A seven-decade-old library on the compound of Leprosy Sanatorium at Nooranad in Alappuzha district of Kerala, which once offered comfort and solace to thousands of inmates as well as enriching the lives of others by guaranteeing access to knowledge with its collection of some 25,000 books and rare palm-leaf manuscripts, is on the verge of going to seed after remaining shut for the past four years.
The Leprosy Sanatorium (LS) library was established in the late 1940s with the father of the Library Movement P.N. Panicker, playwright Thoppil Bhasi and others playing key roles. Beginning in a tiny space, the library was later shifted to a two-storey building within the compound.
COVID-19
“The library was functioning normally until the COVID-19 outbreak. It was shut during the lockdown period and is yet to be reopened. Apart from inmates of the sanatorium, several people from outside visited the facility regularly. We made several representations to the authorities to reopen the library but with no avail,” says an inmate of the Leprosy Sanatorium.
The sanatorium, established nine decades ago, used to house a large number of people during the initial years. Now, it has less than 100 inmates.
“Back then no inmate of the sanatorium was allowed to go outside and mingle with outsiders. The LS library with its large collection of books helped inmates forget their pain. Later, when it was opened to the public, people started to frequent the facility. It helped to create rapport between inmates and outsiders along with addressing the apprehensions associated with Leprosy,” says N. Kumaradas Mangalath, a Nooranad resident who is also a council member of Kerala Pradesh Gandhi Darshan Vedi.
‘Highly valued books’
“The library is home to highly valued books and manuscripts. We do not know the present state of the materials there. The authorities should take steps to preserve the books and open the library immediately,” he adds.
Among the materials in the structure are Russian literature books imported from the Soviet Union by the first Communist government in Kerala. Thamarakulam grama panchayat member R. Rejitha says that despite approaching the Mavelikara MLA M. S. Arunkumar and district administration, no concrete steps have been taken to reopen the facility.
A meeting of the Hospital Management Committee held a few months ago decided to shift the library to a new building within the sanatorium. However, the process has not yet gained momentum. District Collector John V. Samuel says the issue has not come to his notice and “will look into it.”
Vidhya P.V., superintendent, Leprosy Sanatorium, says that they first need to identify a new building to shift the library. “The present building is unfit. As the library houses a huge collection of books, we need to identify a suitable building. In the meantime, we have constituted a new library committee and appointed a temporary librarian,” says Dr. Vidhya.
