The Man Who Wrote A Dictionary In Four Languages

Lexicographer Njattyela Sreedharan, 82, started writing a unique dictionary in four languages post-retirement to fulfill a second innings goal. 

“I see retirement as just another of these reinventions, another chance to do new things and be a new version of myself,” well-acclaimed journalist, Walt Mossberg said. 82-year-old Njattyela Sreedharan, a senior lexicographer’s journey reflects that statement. The fourth-standard dropout compiled a dictionary connecting four Indian languages right after retirement at 55 and stayed with his dream project to finally publish it in his 80s.

“In this unique dictionary, for each Malayalam word, you can find the corresponding words in Kannada, Tamil and Telegu. For words with several meanings, all different meanings are given in the other three languages. This way there are about 125000 words in this unique dictionary,” Sreedharan says.

To achieve this, Thalassery, Kerala based Sreedharan spent 25 long years travelling across four states – Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and doing intensive research. His unique multi-lingual dictionary offers a comparative study of Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telegu. His journey is a testimonial in active ageing and never retiring from life.

The Making Of An Unforgettable Lexicographer

Born in Thalassery, Kerala in 1938, Sreedharan dropped out of school after the fourth standard and started working at a Beedi factory. Life was certainly not a bed of roses but nothing could deter him from gaining knowledge. “While working in the factory I would read extensively whenever I could manage to get some time out and passed the Elementary School Living Certificate (ESLC) examination privately. During my younger years, I devoted most of my time to studies and to teach others as part of literacy programs,” he says.

Sreedharan had a fondness for language and while studying it he focused on different scripts, writing manners, grammar, colloquial usages of words and more. In the articles he had written for several Malayalam dailies and magazines, he suggested corrections in popular linguistic norms in Malayalam. “I was greatly inspired by the books of A. R. Raja Raja Varma, Sheshagiri Prabhu, Campbell and I learnt Tamil while working at a Beedi factory in Palakkad,” he recalls.

His Extraordinary Language Learning Skills Leave Us In Awe

Sreedharan had a remarkable quality of sharpening his language skills from wherever he could. Getting a job to blueprint in Kerala Public Works Department helped him immensely in this. . “During this time, Dr TP Sukumaran, a professor at Nirmalagiri College, Kerala suggested to me the idea of compiling a dictionary of colloquial usages of words in Malayalam. I loved the idea and as I was already familiar with Malayalam and Tamil, I thought of learning the other two major Dravidian languages – Kannada and Telugu and compiling a dictionary connecting all four languages.” says Sreedharan.

He picked up languages from acquaintances and travelled across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh several times. Interacting with the locals there helped him in learning the nuances of these languages.

The unique, multilingual dictionary by Sreedharan

A Multilingual Dictionary: Sreedharan’s Second Innings Goal

In 1994, Sreedharan retired from his service at the age of 55, devoted all his energy and resources to creating the multilingual dictionary, became a lexicographer and created history. He also corrected the errors in other commonly used dictionaries and included colloquial meanings of words.

Braving All Odds The Dictionary Is Now Available For All

Although he could complete the dictionary after years of hard work when he was 74, Sreedharan faced a lot of difficulties in publishing it because of economic viability and his own lack of formal academic qualifications.

The dictionary was submitted to the Kerala Bhasha Institute eventually. “However, due to a lack of experts to evaluate the work and difficulties in proofreading, only the Malayalam to Tamil dictionary was published in 2012 instead of all the four languages. Sometime later, the handwritten manuscript went missing from Kerala Bhasha Institute and after filing a legal notice, I got it back in 2014. Another copy of the manuscript is with Kerala Sahitya Academy under consideration,” he says.

It was in November 2020 that the entire dictionary was finally published and launched, thanks to the collaborative efforts from the Senior Citizens Forum in Kerala. It has been a dream come true for the octogenarian lexicographer who is blessed with the gift of languages and the final crowning of his second innings goal.