C.M.S. Press

Last updated

C.M.S Press
TypePrivate
Industry printing
Founded1821
Headquarters,

C.M.S Press was the first printing press in Kerala. [1] It was established in 1821 by Rev. Benjamin Baily, a British missionary, at kottayam College, also known as 'Syrian College'. The college was a seat of English general education in the State of Travancore and is regarded as the first locale to start English education" in Kerala and the first to have Englishmen as teachers in 1815 itself. Since the missionaries stayed in the residence of kottayam College, they established the first press in Kerala at 'kottayam College' now called as 'Pazhaya Seminary'or 'Old Seminary' in Chungom, Kottayam.

Contents

History

The first Malayalam Book printed in Kerala, 'Cherupaitangalku Upakarardham Englishil ninnu Paribhashapedutiya Kadhakal',(which consists of short stories for children translated from English) by Benjamin Baily was printed at CMS press in Kottayam in 1824. C.M.S Press published complete Malayalam translation of the Bible in 1842 and a Malayalam- English Dictionary in 1846. Njananikshepam (in Malayalam:ജ്ഞാനനിക്ഷേപം), the first printed News paper published in Kerala, [2] has been printed and published from 1848 from this press.

C.M.S Press undertook printing works in the languages of Malayalam, English, Tamil, Sanskrit, Latin and Syriac. C.M.S Press was the first polyglot printing office as well as the first book publishing house in Kerala.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kottayam district</span> District in Kerala, India

Kottayam, is one of 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. It is the only district in Kerala that neither borders the Arabian Sea nor any other states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malayalam literature</span> Literary traditions of the Malayali people of India

Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary texts written in Malayalam, a South-Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala. The first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Malayalam literature has been presented with 6 Jnanapith awards, the second-most for any Dravidian language and the third-highest for any Indian language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermann Gundert</span> German missionary, scholar, and linguist

Hermann Gundert was a German missionary, scholar, and linguist, as well as the maternal grandfather of German novelist and Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse. Gundert is chiefly known for his contributions as an Indologist, and compiled a Malayalam grammar book, Malayalabhaasha Vyakaranam (1859), in which he developed and constricted the grammar spoken by the Malayalis, nowadays; a Malayalam-English dictionary (1872), and contributed to work on Bible translations into Malayalam. He worked primarily at Tellicherry on the Malabar coast, in present day Kerala, India. Gundert also contributed to the fields of history, geography and astronomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CMS College Kottayam</span> Educational institute in Kerala

The CMS College is the first Western-style college in India.

Chungam is a small junction in Kottayam city in Kerala state, Southern India. The junction borders the Meenachil river, which is one of the medium range rivers, but well known through Arundhati Roy's famous book The God of Small Things. Most of the events in the book took place in Chungam. Aymanam village, which is mentioned in the book, is about three kilometers away from Chungam. The oldest college and school in Kerala and India are here. The road that passes through Chungam is an alternate route to reach Kottayam Medical College.

<i>Malayala Manorama</i> Kerala-based Indian newspaper

Malayala Manorama is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew; it was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1888, and currently has a readership of over 9 million. It is also the second oldest Malayalam newspaper in Kerala in circulation, after Deepika, which is also published from Kottayam. Manorama also publishes an online edition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathews Athanasius</span>

Mathews Mar Athanasius (Mar Thoma XIII) (25 April 1818 – 16 July 1877) was the Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church from 1852 until 1865. As a reformer, he spent most of his reign attempting to reform and heal rifts within the church. However in 1865, he was deposed by the traditionalist faction of the Malankara Church and Pulikkottil Joseph Dionysius became their leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kottayam</span> City in Kerala, India

Kottayam, IPA: [koːʈːɐjɐm] is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-west Kerala. Kottayam is located in the basin of the Meenachil River at an average elevation of 3 metres (9.8 ft) above sea level, and has a moderate climate. It is located approximately 155 kilometres (96 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

The Church Missionary Society College High School is situated in Kottayam, Kerala, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Books</span> Indian book publishing company based in Kerala

DC Books is a publisher in Kerala publisher of books in Malayalam, and one of the publishers in India. It also operates one of the largest book store chains in India, with a network of over 45 bookshops under the DC Books and Current Books brands as well as more than 50 agencies in Kerala.

Mar Dionysius II, born Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop was 10th Malankara Metropolitan for nine months until his death on 24 November 1816. He dethroned Mar Thoma IX and succeeded him by the favour of Col.John Munroe, then British Resident of Travancore. Despite the brevity of his reign he made lasting contributions to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malayattoor Ramakrishnan</span> Indian writer

K. V. Ramakrishna Iyer, better known by his pen name, Malayattoor Ramakrishnan, was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, cartoonist, lawyer, judicial magistrate, and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He was best known for his novels, short stories and biographical sketches and his works include Yanthram, Verukal, Yakshi and Service Story – Ente IAS Dinangal. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel in 1967. He was also a recipient of the Vayalar Award in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punnathra Dionysius III</span>

Mar Dionysius III, also known as Punnathra Mar Dionysius and born Kurien was 11th Malankara Metropolitan and Successor to the Holy Apostolic Throne of St.Thomas from 1817 until his death. Dionysius had a long career in the Malankara Church prior to his consecration as Metropolitan. It was his suggestion during the time of Mar Thoma IX to establish the Syrian seminary at Kottayam, Kerala's first educational institution. He also welcomed some of the first missionary teachers who arrived from England to teach in the seminary. In 1816, following the demise of Mar Dionysius II, who had not appointed a successor, Kurien was elected to succeed him as the Malankara Metropolitan by the general assembly of the Church and was ordained as bishop by Geevarghese Mar Philexenos II of the Malabar Independent Syrian Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dionysius of Vattasseril</span>

Geevarghese Mar Dionysius of Vattasseril popularly known as Vattasseril Thirumeni was a bishop of the Malankara Church, 15th Malankara Metropolitan, and a founder of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. In 2003, the Church declared Mar Dionysius as a saint. He is known as 'The Great Luminary of Malankara Church', a title which the Church bestowed on him in recognition of his contribution to the Church.

Vennikkulam Gopala Kurup (1902–1980) was an Indian poet, playwright, translator, lexicographer and story writer of Malayalam. He was the author of a number of poetry anthologies, besides other works, and he translated Abhijnana Shakuntalam, Tulsi Ramayana, Tirukkuṛaḷ, the poems of Subramania Bharati and two cantos of The Light of Asia of Edwin Arnold into Malayalam. He also contributed in the preparation of a dictionary, Kairali Kosham. A recipient of the Odakkuzhal Award and Thirukural Award, Kurup received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry in 1966. Sahitya Akademi honoured him with their annual award in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Bailey (missionary)</span>

Benjamin Bailey was a British Church Mission Society missionary in Kerala, India for 34 years. He was ordained 1815 and moved to Kerala in 1816 where he found a mission station in Kottayam, and in 1821 he established a Malayalam printing press. He translated the Bible into Malayalam, in 1846 published the first English-Malayalam dictionary, and in 1849 published the first Malayalam-English dictionary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Madhya Kerala of the Church of South India</span>

The Madhya Kerala Diocese is one of the twenty-four dioceses of the Church of South India covering the central part of Kerala. When the Church of South India was formed on 27 September 1947, the diocese was called the Diocese of Central Travancore. It was a part of the erstwhile Anglican Diocese of Travancore and Cochin founded in 1879. The Diocese was later renamed as Diocese of Madhya Kerala.

Translation of the Bible into Malayalam began in 1806. Church historians say Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban, a scholar from Kayamkulam, translated the Bible from Syriac into Malayalam in 1811 to help the faithful get a better understanding of the scripture. The Manjummal translation is the first Catholic version of the Bible in Malayalam. This is the direct translation from Latin. The four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles were translated by the inmates of the Manjummal Ashram, Fr. Aloysius, Fr. Michael and Fr. Polycarp. The Pancha Granthy came out from Mannanam under the leadership of Nidhirikkal Mani Kathanar in 1924. The Catholic New Testament was published in full in 1940. and has influenced development of the modern language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church Missionary Society in India</span> Missionary Society in India

The Church Missionary Society in India was a branch organisation established by the Church Missionary Society (CMS), which was founded in Britain in 1799 under the name the Society for Missions to Africa and the East, as a mission society working with the Anglican Communion, other Protestants, and Orthodox Christians around the world. In 1812, the British organization was renamed the Church Missionary Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arch Deacon Koshy</span> Indian priest

Koshy Koshy also spelled as Koshi Koshi (1825–1899) was an Indian Anglican priest and Malayalam novelist.

References

  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Handbook of Kottayam district, published by Geovernment of Kerala
  2. http://www.missionaryresearch.com/PROGAMMES_PROJECTS.htm [ dead link ]