Swarachakra Malayalam Keyboard 2.01

"Is it the exquisite Komala lotus blooming in Oman, filled with honey, or is it the full moon of Paripurnendu?" – Irayimman Thampi

The phrase's presentation in Malayalam reflects a well-supported device for Malayalam text. If it appears properly, your technology effectively supports both Malayalam and the Swarachakra keyboard functionality. Conversely, if the text is misrepresented or missing, there may be limitations in compatibility.

Swarachakra Malayalam (സ്വരചക്ര മലയാളം) serves as an innovative touch-screen keyboard designed for inputting text in the Malayalam language. It is also available for other languages such as Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Punjabi, Bengali, and Konkani. The layout is thoughtfully organized according to the logical structure of Malayalam phonetics, presenting consonants in a visually cohesive grid akin to standard educational materials.

Typing Methodology

Effective input in Malayalam often requires combining a consonant (ക) with a vowel (േ), exemplified by: ക + േ = കേ. Upon selecting a consonant, a chakra appears featuring various consonant-vowel combinations (കാ, കി, കീ, കു, കൂ, കെ, കേ, കൈ, കൗ, ക്). This chakra allows users to preview potential character combinations; users may select their desired option by sliding their finger or stylus.

Typing complex conjuncts such as ക്രി, സ്ഥ, and ച്യ can pose challenges. Swarachakra simplifies this process. Initially, tap on the first segment of the combination and select the chandrakala (സ + ്) from the chakra. Subsequently, Swarachakra displays all potential conjuncts beginning with that consonant (e.g., സ + ് + ഥ = സ്ഥ). Adding a vowel sign is achieved by selecting it from another chakra as previously described (സ്ഥാ, സ്ഥി, സ്റ്റീ, സ്ഥു,…).

For characters such as ശ്ര and കൃ, users should choose the corresponding keys, ്ര and ൃ located at the bottom right of the keyboard before continuing with standard input methods. To type chillu letters (ൺ, ൻ, ർ, ൽ, ൾ), select the designated key S at the base of the keyboard; related vowels and modifiers are found nearby (ഌ, ൄ, ൌ, ം, ഃ).

Complete vowels (അ, ആ, ഇ, ഈ, ഉ, ഊ, ഋ, എ, ഐ, ഒ, ഔ) are accessible via a dedicated chakra located in the bottom right corner. Numerals and symbols can be included through a shift function. Moreover, users have the option to temporarily switch to a QWERTY layout for English character input.

Installation Instructions

The installation process for Swarachakra Malayalam begins with clicking the “Install” button. Next steps involve enabling the keyboard: access “Settings,” navigate to “Language and Input,” and check the box next to സ്വരചക്ര മലയാളം (Swarachakra Malayalam) found in the “Keyboard and input methods” section.

The final step requires setting സ്വരചക്ര മലയാളം as your default keyboard by selecting “Default” in the “Keyboard and input methods” options. Please note that this application is tailored for Android versions 4.0 (ICS) and later; it is incompatible with earlier versions due to lack of Unicode support.