Think of it like a family tree. Proto-Dravidian is the grandparent, and the various modern Dravidian languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and others are like the descendants.
Proto-Dravidian is a hypothetical language, meaning we don't have any written records of it. Linguists reconstruct it by studying the similarities and differences between existing Dravidian languages.
It's important to note that:
* Proto-Dravidian is not the same as a "mother language" in the traditional sense. It's not a language spoken by a specific group of people at a particular time.
* The exact relationship between Proto-Dravidian and modern Dravidian languages is complex and constantly being refined. It involves understanding how languages change over time and how different languages have influenced each other.
So, while there's no one "mother" language, understanding Proto-Dravidian helps us trace the history and evolution of the Dravidian language family.