THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:An Ayurveda book in Arabic, a palm-leaf manuscript Bible, a century-old tantric text, E K Nayanar’s horoscope and O N V Kurup’s personal diary! In case you are wondering about the list, these are among the valuable documents to be added to the state’s archival records.
They were identified in a household survey of private records by the State Archives Department in association with the State Literacy Mission Authority. Over 1 lakh archival documents were identified in the first-ever exercise in the country, said P Biju, director of the Archives Department.“About 70,000 volunteers of the Literacy Mission participated in the survey which covered all panchayats in the state. Local roots of the surveyors helped in locating rare documents which could not have been found in an official exercise,” he said.
The documents identified cover a wide range of topics — from personal diaries to documents kept by freedom fighters, rare Ayurveda manuscripts, tantra, kalaripayattu and letters written by famous personalities.
The Literacy Mission is expected to handover the survey data to the Archives Department this month. “We will select the relevant documents and publish the catalogue on the website. It will be helpful for researchers,” he said. The survey brought to light the rich historical records in possession with the people in the Malabar region, yet the Archives Department doesn’t have sufficient records from the region in its collection, he said.
The department is now formulating a plan to conserve the identified documents in consultation with the custodians. “Interested parties can handover the documents to the Archives Department. For others, the department will provide assistance to preserve them at the respective locations,” he said.The survey also helped in creating an awareness among the volunteers and public on identifying and preserving documents of archival importance, he said.