Tulu script (Tulu lipi) is a southern Brahmic script which was used to write Tulu and Sanskrit languages. It evolved from the Grantha script. It bears high similarity and relationship to its sister script Malayalam and Tigalari which also evolved from the Grantha.
Tulu is a Dravidian language of India spoken by an estimated native speakers between 3 to 5 million spread worldwide, known as Tuluvas. It is one of the oldest language born almost during the same time when Tamil & Prakrit were born. Most Tuluvas are natives of the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the west of the state of Karnataka and also Kasaragod district of Kerala which is collectively known as the Tulunad region. There are a sizeable number of Tuluvas in the gulf as well as in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. The original written script of the language Tulu adapted from the Grantha Script, from which the present day Malayalam script is also adapted, is rarely used today. Since the people have taken initiate to revive this script. All tulunad’s people wants their language should be come existence like all other languages there in our State.
The Tulu script used by the migrating Tulu priests in Kerala to write vedas and mantras around 11-12th century is popularly known as the Tulu Script. As this script form is popular in both Tulunad and Kerala, it’s called Tulu-Malayalam script. This Tulu-Malayalam script became Malayalam script in Kerala and Tulu script in Tulunad There is another variant script which is called as Tigalari script. These three scripts share much similarities because they originated from same parent script which grantha.
Alternate Names:
| Name of the script | Prevalent in | Reference to their roots |
| Arya ezhuttu/Grantha Malayalam | Kerala, Parts of Karnataka and Tamilnadu | Malayalam speaker, Manipravala and Tamil Grantha |
| Western Grantha/Tulu-Malayalam | Few academic publication | 19th century Western scholars |
| Tulu script | Tulunad region | National manuscript mission catalogue |
| Tulu Lipi/Tulu Grantha lipi | Tulu people | Tulu speaker, AC burnell |
The name by which this script is referred to is closely tied with its regional, linguistic or historical roots. It would not be wrong to assign all the names mentioned above to this script.
Arya Ezhuttu or the more recently coined term: Grantha Malayalam is used to refer to this script in Kerala. Arya Ezhuttu covers the spectrum between the older script (that is Tulu script) until it was standardised by the lead types for Malayalam script (old style) in Kerala.
This script is commonly known as the Tulu script or Tulu Grantha script in the Tulunadu region of india. There are several recent publications and instructional books for learning this script. It is also mentioned in—Elements of South Indian Palaeography by Rev. A C Burnell and a couple of other early publications of the Basel Mission press, Mangalore. Tulu Ramayana manuscript found in the Dharmasthala archives refers to this script as ‘Tulu lipi’.
Proposals of Tulu script have been submitted to Unicode in 2011 by Michael Everson Script is also accepted by the government to include in unicode.