Njattyela Sreedharan

Njattyela Sreedharan was an Indian lexicographer from Thalassery in Kerala. He is known for compiling a dictionary connecting four major Dravidian languages Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.

Background

Sreedharan was born in Thalassery, Madras Province, British India on 20 December 1938. He died at his residence on 13 August 2025, at the age of 86.

Selected books

Malayalam–Tamil Dictionary
Chathur Dravida Bhasha Nighandu
Chathur Dravida Bhasha Padaparichayam
Ormakalude Thirayattam

The Chathur Dravida Bhasha Nighandu was digitized and published as the Samam Four-Language Dictionary in 2024, through a collaboration between the Indic Digital Archive Foundation and the Malayalam Mission’s Karnataka Chapter.

In popular culture

The 2021 documentary Dreaming of Words, directed by Nandan, celebrates the life and work of Njattyela Sreedharan. Dreaming of Words has received numerous accolades including a National Film Award and was screened at the annual convention of the Modern Language Association and the annual conference of the Linguistic Society of America in January 2022.

Major awards

Dr. Hermann Gundert Award for the best dictionary instituted by Dravidian Linguistics Association.
Special Jury Award at the 5th India Reading Olympiad, organised by the Food4Thought Foundation, which was presented during the 13th Hyderabad Literary Festival.