C.M.S Press was the first printing press in
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
. 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.
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
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
in 1842 and a Malayalam- English Dictionary in 1846.
Njananikshepam (in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
:ജ്ഞാനനിക്ഷേപം), the first printed News paper published in Kerala,
[http://www.missionaryresearch.com/PROGAMMES_PROJECTS.htm ] has been printed and published from 1848 from this press.
C.M.S Press undertook printing works in the languages of
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
, English,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
,
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
,
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and
Syriac. C.M.S Press was the first polyglot printing office as well as the first book publishing house in Kerala.
See also
*
Printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
*
Church Missionary Society
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...
*
Media in Kerala
References
Printing companies
{{Kerala-stub