THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The seemingly age-old building stands unique amidst the hustle and bustle of Vanchiyoor in the city. This abode of a rich collection of books stands testimony to a single man’s thirst for knowledge and books, and above all his willpower. He was Kesava Pillai, popularly known as ‘Vayanasala’ (library) Kesava Pillai, who once begged for books from the city households in the early twentieth century. Started with some twenty books, Kesava Pillai’s hardwork led him to buy some land and raise a building there. First, it was started at Palkulangara, then shifted to Kaithamukku, finally the library was bestowed with 10 cents of land at Vanchiyoor on lease from the royal family of Travancore.
There are interesting facts regarding the establishment and existence of the library. Kesava Pillai started the library in the name of King Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma of Travancore, when the king was just two years old, as a symbol of reverence to the royal family, where he worked as a caretaker. Another story is that Kesava Pillai himself took a vow of not shaving his beard until the construction of the library building was completed. Stories or facts, these serve as evidence of the great man’s love for knowledge, his diligent efforts and dedication.
The Chithira Thirunal Library, which was established in the year 1914, is nearing its centenary. This year, it is completing its 96th year. The long way of its growth is also of historical importance. The institution has preserved thousands of palm leaf scriptures, along with several published materials of earlier times. The library always makes it a point to keep the first copy of all publications. It serves as a refuge for researchers, academics and scholars providing access to numerous exclusive materials.
Now, the library owns over one lakh books. It also has publications from Hindi, English and Sanskrit, apart from Malayalam.
Kesava Pillai had an incredible collection of ‘Panjangams’ too. The library is also the research centre of the Mahatma Gandhi University. It has over 5,000 members now.
The most remarkable aspect of the library is the pivotal role it played in the evolution of theatre in the State. Starting from its fourth anniversary, the institution has been engaged in promoting theatre artists and activities and these are staged at its anniversary celebrations. Many of the plays and works of historical importance such as ‘Marthandavarma’ , ‘Raja Kesavadasan’, ‘Indulekha’ etc were, in fact, written for the anniversary celebrations of the library. Later, these went on to become the most popular plays in Malayalam.
Most of the doyens of theatre, C V Raman Pillai, E V Krishna Pillai and G Sankara Pillai, to name a few, were nurtured under the activities of the library. It also played a significant role in bringing forth women actors into the field of theatre, once dominated by men. Anna Chandy, Omana Kunjamma, Radha Devi and Rugmini Amma were some among them.
The library, after the demise of its founder Kesava Pillai in 1972, is now being governed by a 19- member committee that includes a nominee from the royal family. Former chief secretary R Ramachandran Nair is the present president and Kesava Pillai’s son Bhanuvikraman Nair is the secretary. Though passing through proud moments, this heritage structure is in the grip of a financial crisis. Preserving the old publications and scriptures also poses a problem. More space is required for proper accommodation of the increasing number of publications.
trivandrum@expressbuzz.com