Kozhikode UNESCO City of Literature are proud to present the work of Bindu Irulam, a celebrated tribal poet from the Wayanad region of Kerala.

Irulam writes in Kattunayakan (Jenu Kurumba), a language classified as Critically Endangered on the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger and spoken by around 100,000 speakers.

Written in Kattunayakan, this poem acts as a haunting metaphor for the erosion of Indigenous identity. The poet uses the imagery of a crumbling tribal home (‘Daivamane’) to represent the silencing of her community’s ancient language and traditions. As the physical structure returns to the earth, so too does the ‘God’ of their culture fall silent.

Bindu Irulam is a celebrated tribal poet from Wayanad who has garnered recognition for her poetry written in the Kattunayakan language, a language without a script. Writing in both Malayalam and her native tribal language, Bindu Irulam remains committed to preserving the cultural identity of the Kattunaykkan community through her work. Her poetry reflects a deep sense of yearning for the disappearing harmony of nature while echoing the heartbeat of indigenous life.