Consonants usually have an inherent short "a" sound.
Velar group:
ക (ka) – unaspirated k
ഖ (kha) – aspirated kh
ഗ (ga) – g as in "go"
ഘ (gha) – breathy gh
ങ (ṅa) – ng as in "sing"
Palatal group:
ച (ca) – ch as in "church"
ഛ (cha) – aspirated chh
ജ (ja) – j as in "jam"
ഝ (jha) – breathy jh
ഞ (ña) – ny as in "canyon"
Practice: Read each group aloud 3 times.