Panam payattu, the traditional crowd-funding drive popular in Malabar, had a literary makeover at Kuttiyadi on Wednesday, when teachers and students of a local school held a pusthaka payattu to collect 10,000 books for their library named after former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Panam Payattu or kurikkalyanam is a popular method in rural areas to collect money for construction of houses, marrying off daughters, sending sons to the Gulf or meeting other dire financial needs.
The needy person holds the event at a pre-scheduled venue and time and local residents contribute money they can afford to spare. The participants are given light refreshments and tea. The organiser of the event pays back the money at a similar event held at another place for another need and the cycle continues.
Jamal Kuttiyadi, headmaster of M.I. Upper Primary School, Kuttiyadi, says he mooted the idea of pusthaka payattu to cash in on the popular fund-raising method in areas such as Kuttiyadi, Nadapuram, and Vadakara.
The management, students, old students, teachers, and the parent-teacher association lapped it up. A printed invitation was distributed in the nearby villages and the message was put on the social media too.
“The event was held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and we have so far received 6,000 books in English and Malayalam. There are reference books and an Islamic encyclopaedia too in the collection,” he said. C.N. Balakrishnan, Kuttiyadi grama panchayat president, inaugurated the drive.
Mr. Jamal said people from Kuttiyadi, Mokeri, Thottilppalam, Perambra, Nadapuram, Vadakara, Velam, and Maruthomkara chipped in with their contribution.
Those who could not donate books contributed money up to ₹500. The participants were given black tea, unniappam, and poovan pazham.
“Some other books have been sponsored by voluntary organisations and traders and merchants’ bodies. They are expected to reach us in the next few days. The number of books is expected to cross 12,000,” Mr. Jamal said.
The names and other details of donors have been entered in a register and they will be free to borrow books from the library titled ‘Kalam Aksharaveedu’.
K.P. Abdul Majeed, a member on the school management committee, said the payattu was an attempt to regain the reading habit among students and the local population.
“District Collector U.V. Jose will formally inaugurate the library on October 21,” he added.
