THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sree Narayana Vidyarthi Sadanam, a student’s hostel started by T V Narayani Amma and her husband, Manakkodathu Kesavan Asan, as per the request of Sree Narayana Guru, at Vanross Junction, Thiruvananthapuram, is celebrating its centenary.
But unfortunately, the heritage building is not being maintained properly due to a lack of funds. Shyamala Koyikkal, a resident who lived there for nine years, is keen to see the state government preserving the building. The first residents of the hostel include K R Gouri, M Kamalam, Justice Fathima Beevi, etc.
Sree Narayana Guru realised that women graduates were fewer in number as there was no proper hostel facility in Thiruvananthapuram. This led him to give one sovereign gold to his disciple Narayani Amma and urged her to start a girl’s hostel.
On July 20, 1924, the SNV Sadanam was launched in a rented building. Within a short span of time, the state government gave the grant and also recognised it. Shyamala Koyikkal, former joint registrar who also held the charge of finance officer, University of Kerala, told TNIE that the centenary committee had envisaged a year-long commemorative programme.
“But unfortunately due to the Wayanad landslides, the centenary committee decided to commemorate the event as a low-key affair. We have since decided to hold a monthly seminar until next July. A great history lies unknown about SNV Sadanam as it deserves a place in the history of women’s empowerment in the State. I stayed there for nine long years when I pursued my BEd and PhD and left the hostel when I got married. It is high time the state government took action to preserve it and bring it back to its former glory,” 62-year-old Shyamala told TNIE.
Initially, SNV Sadanam was only female girl students which saw a new building coming up at Bakery Junction in 1955. Later, a working women’s hostel was also started in the same vicinity in 1959. A third hostel has also come up and all the three hostels are managed by a trust in the name of SNV Sadanam. Unfortunately, the trust lacks adequate funds for the upkeep of all the three hostels.
This has resulted in a lack of maintenance work being undertaken in the hostels, including at SNV Sadanam, Vanross Junction. Currently, girls and working women are being provided hostel facilities. But with the mushrooming of paying guest accommodation in the capital city, the sheen of SNV Sadanam has declined over the years.