https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=PallikoodamPallikoodam - Revision history2026-11-15T23:38:32ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pallikoodam&diff=523969&oldid=prevAmit raj: new2026-03-14T09:31:56Z<p>new</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Malayalam and Tamil word that denotes a village school}}<br />
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{{Use Indian English|date=December 2017}}<br />
'''Pallikoodam''' or '''Ezhuthupally Pally''' is a word in [[Malayalam]] and [[Tamil language|Tamil]] that denotes a [[school]].<ref name = "book_manu">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_z_8ImnviEC|title=STATE OF MIND|last=Rajnish|first=Manu|publisher=Manu Rajnish|isbn=9789350871270|language=en}}</ref><br />
These were mostly village schools run by individual teachers (Ezhuthu pally [[Aasaan|Aashaan]]s or Asans or [[Guru]]s) and were distinct from [[Kalari]]s that taught martial arts.<ref name="book_carmelite">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N2IonQAACAAJ|title=Contributions of Carmelites of Mary Immaculate Congregation to Education in Kerala: 1831-2008|last=Wilson|first=Kokkat|date=2016|publisher=Dharmaram Publications, Dharmaram College|isbn=9789384964436|language=en}}</ref><ref name="article_menon_2015">{{Cite journal|last=Menon|first=Dilip M.|date=2015-12-01|title=Writing History in Colonial Times: Polemic and the Recovery of Self in Late Nineteenth-Century South India|journal=History and Theory|language=en|volume=54|issue=4|pages=64–83|doi=10.1111/hith.10779|issn=1468-2303}}</ref><br />
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==Etymology==<br />
The real meaning of ''Pallikkoodam'' is ''a sacred place for education''. In medieval Kerala, Jain Derasars and Buddhist viharas were known as 'Ezhuthupally. When Budha bhiskhus started small schools, they were called Pallikkoodam.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Buddhist History of Kerala|url=http://www.kerala.cc/keralahistory/index34.htm|website=kerala.cc|access-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304215933/http://www.kerala.cc/keralahistory/index34.htm|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> A generally accepted explanation of the [[etymology]] of this Malayalam word is that it is a [[blend word]] formed out of two Malayalam words ''Palli'' and ''Koodam''. The word '''Palli''' means small village in Tamil, Sanskrit & Malayalam. '''Koodam''' means Gathering in Tamil and Malayalam. Pallikoodam means village gathering. <br />
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The Malayalam word for Mosque and Church is also later referred to as "Palli" as they borrowed these words. <br />
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In Keral, Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka village schools are called ''Pallikoodam (''[[Sri Lankan Tamil dialect|Sri Lankan Tamil]]).<br />
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==Types==<br />
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There were different forms of Pallikoodams that were established across [[Kerala]] offering different levels of education, with some regional variations. [[Kudippallikoodam]] was by far the most important, popular and wide spread form, since most of the students except clerics, priests or scholarly professionals would usually stop after receiving elementary education and start working on their professions.<br />
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===Kudippallikoodam===<br />
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Kudippallikoodam ([[:ml:കുടിപ്പള്ളിക്കൂടം|കുടിപ്പള്ളിക്കൂടം]]) also known as 'Aashan Pallikoodam' (ആശാൻ പള്ളിക്കൂടം) was a popular form of schooling. This was an indigenous elementary schooling method where an instructor or ''aashan'' (ആശാൻ) would teach young children about alphabets, numbers, elementary arithmetic, writing as well as general aspects of life such as personal discipline, cleanliness, morality and general knowledge. Young students are initially trained in writing by making them write on the sand. <br />
Once they are comfortable with writing on sand, the students would upgrade themselves to reporting on the standard writing medium i.e. palm leaves ([[Thaliyola]] or [[Palm-leaf manuscript]]s) as the writing material and iron pen ([[Narayam]]) as the writing instrument (stylus) to scribe on them.<br />
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In the 20th century CE, the writing medium mostly got upgraded into wooden slates and chalk. This continued to be the case until the system almost entirely died out by the dawn of the 21st century CE.<br />
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==Revival Efforts==<br />
Recent efforts have been undertaken to revive traditional teaching methods and tools. A noteworthy example is an initiative titled ''Malayalam Pallikoodam'' proposed by the famous Malayalam Poet [[V Madhusoodanan Nair]]. This initiative tried to revive the use of wooden slates instead of paper notebooks and pencils for teaching Malayalam and has received significant attention from parents.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/reliving-the-pallikoodam-experience/article6300220.ece|title=Reliving the 'pallikoodam' experience|last=Kumar|first=Kaavya Pradeep|date=2014-08-10|work=The Hindu|access-date=2017-12-01|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Education in Kerala]]<br />
* [[Institute of Human Resources Development]]<br />
* [[List of educational institutions in Kerala]]<br />
* [[Narayam]], the writing instrument used to write on palm leaf-based documents.<br />
* [[Palm-leaf manuscript]]<br />
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==References==<br />
"The Buddhist History of Kerala". kerala.cc. Retrieved 4 April 2016. Link:{{reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:Schools in Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:Schools in Tamil Nadu]]</div>Amit raj