Historic library building at Ambalapuzha in Kerala set to regain its lost glory

Alappuzha district panchayat to restore historic P.K. Memorial Grandhasala building, 1st library registered with Kerala Grandhasala Sangham. Est. 1936, rechristened P.K. Vilasam Grandhasala in 1937. Building completed in 1943, served as head office of Thiruvithamkoor Grandhasala Sangham. Library has 55,000 books, online book discussions every Sunday. ₹15 lakh project to preserve historical significance of building.

The historic old building of the P.K. Memorial Grandhasala at Ambalapuzha in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, the first library registered with the Kerala Grandhasala Sangham, is set to regain its lost glory, thanks to the Alappuzha district panchayat which has promised funds for restoring the eight-decade-old two-storey structure.

District panchayat president K.G. Rajeshwari said the renovation work would be carried out to preserve the historical significance of the building. “We have prepared a project. It will be submitted for approval next week,” she says.

The history of the library, which played a significant role in the library movement in Kerala, dates back to 1936. “It was established by the people of Karoor in Ambalapuzha. They named it Justice P.K. Vilasam Grandhasala in honour of Sahitya Panchanan P.K. Narayana Pillai. The library was closed after a few months. P.N. Panicker [known as the Father of the Library Movement in Kerala] who came to Ambalapuzha as a school teacher led the efforts to revive it. The rechristened P.K. Vilasam Grandhasala began functioning in a rented room near the south gate of the Sree Krishna Swamy temple, Ambalapuzha, in August 1937. It was later renamed P.K. Memorial Grandhasala,” says K.P. Krishnadas, president of the library.

The construction of its own building, the two-storey structure with a reading room on the ground floor and library upstairs, on a two-cent land got under way in 1939 and was completed in 1943. Later, Panicker led the formation of the Thiruvithamkoor Grandhasala Sangham (Travancore Library Association). The meeting of representatives of 47 libraries in erstwhile Travancore that established the Grandhasala Sangham was held at an auditorium at Ambalapuzha on September 14, 1945. It was inaugurated by C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the then Diwan of Travancore.

“The P.K. Memorial Grandhasala was the nerve centre of library movement in Kerala. The library and its secretary, Panicker, had played a crucial role in the formation of the Thiruvithamkoor Grandhasala Sangham by bringing together various libraries. When the sangham was formed, P.K. Memorial Grandhasala was the first name on its registry. The library building had functioned as the head office of the sangham for one year,” says Mr. Krishnadas.

Though the library, which has a collection of over 55,000 books, expanded by adding 20 cents of land and constructing new buildings, including a centre of excellence, the old two-storey building, albeit in a dilapidated condition, continues to function as a reading room. “Once renovated, the building will stand as a symbol of the library movement,” adds Mr. Krishnadas. The project is expected to cost around ₹15 lakh.

Every Sunday, the library organises online book discussions.