Renovated house of P.N. Panicker, the father of the library movement in Kerala, at Neelamperoor in Kuttanad is all set for inauguration. It will be opened to the public by Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian on August 20 at 2 p.m.
A bust of Panicker will be installed at his ancestral home. A procession carrying the bust will be flagged off by Job Michael, MLA, at Kurichi junction on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Panicker’s family had earlier handed over the Puthuvayil house and 6.5 cents of land at ward 3 in Neelamperoor grama panchayat to the State government free of cost. With no measures to protect it, the structure started to crumble. A portion of the roof collapsed in the rainy season last year.
The renovation work was carried out under the aegis of P.N. Panicker Foundation spending ₹11 lakh. While the Kottayam Public Library provided ₹5 lakh, others also chipped in with contributions. As part of the renovation, the foundation of the structure was strengthened and its roof was restored. Besides, all decayed doors and windows were replaced along with repairing walls and floors among other works.
“Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian has recently announced that Panicker’s birthplace will be converted into a heritage museum. It is up to the government to release funds and make it happen. The P.N. Panicker Foundation, on the other hand, is duty bound to set up a monument to the father of the library movement in the State at his birthplace. The first phase of the project, which was to preserve his ancestral home, has been completed. In the next phase, we are planning to construct P.N. Panicker Research Centre having a digital library, conference hall, and so on. The entire project is expected to cost around ₹4 crore,” said N. Balagopal, vice chairman, P.N. Panicker Foundation.
Panicker’s passion for reading began at a young age. At the age of 12, he gathered local people who could not read or write under a Banyan tree in the compound of Neelamperoor Palli Bhagavathi Temple and would read newspapers aloud.
Later, he established the Sanadanadharma Library in front of the temple. As a teacher, Panicker propagated the message ‘Read and Grow’. According to the foundation, he helped establish 5,623 libraries across the State. Panicker died in 1995 and the State government designated June 19 as Reading Day. Since 2017, June 19 is celebrated as National Reading Day in his honour.
P.N. Panicker Foundation chairman Pannyan Raveendran, Thomas K. Thomas, MLA, Rajya Sabha former deputy chairman P.J. Kurien, former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan, and others will attend the function.
