Lawyers in black and white walking in and out of the court compound, blaring horns of restless drivers and screeching of brakes....a typical busy day at Vanchiyoor. But inside an aged blue-windowed brown building, a stone’s throw away from the court gate, life moves slower with avid readers lost in a world of words.
Founded in 1914 by Keshava Pillai a.k.a Vayanashala Keshava Pillai, a resident of Kaithamukku and an employee of Kowdiar palace, Sree Chithira Thirunaal Library was initially a small collection of books at his house.
“He used to go around the city asking for book donations. When the number of books grew, he moved the library to a rented room at Kaithamukku. Later the royal family gave this land for constructing a library along with a reading space,” says S. Haridas, the current librarian.
The present edifice, the extension of two extra floors and a large store room on the right side of the old reading room, was built in 1966. A dimly-lit space with aged, dusty shelves occupying the space on either side of the aisle, the store room is where the oldest of old pages are housed. Some books and old newspapers are piled up on the floor in between shelves. A stairway leads to the first floor where oldest books are kept .
A reference book on ferns
Sree Chithira Thirunaal Library today houses more than one lakh books. Among the treasured tomes are two volumes of famous Botanist Nathaniel Wallich’s Plantae Asiatcae Rariores, a reference book with colourful illustrations on plants of the Indian subcontinent published in 1830 and another 1868 book with photographs and descriptions on different races and tribes of India.
Wide range of literature
An 1868 reference book on different races and castes of India
Scottish essayist Elizabeth Hamilton’s Translations of Letters to a Hindoo Rajah from 1798 is the oldest of the lot. Apart from texts and novels, the library also houses a collection of Malayalam magazines such as Vidya Vinodini, Vinjana Chinthamani and Vidya Vilasini from 1880s.
Reference books on fishes
But perhaps the most important contribution of this establishment are the plays that it has produced and staged over the years.
“It is a tradition of ours to write and stage one new play every year. Some of the best works of playwrights like C.V. Raman Pillai and Jagathy N.K. Achari were the ones written for the library,” says Haridas.
