Karinthandan Memorial Library, first library started by Paniya tribe in Kerala

Wayanad: Kerala's first-ever library exclusively for the Paniya tribe has been established in Wayanad. The library named Karinthandan Memorial Library has been opened at the Paniya colony in Nenmeni panchayat here. A grand inauguration was held accompanied by tribal songs, dance and stories. 

Rebecca Mathayi, a student and native of Govindamoola took initiative to establish a library in her village. She also wished to see the people in the Paniya tribe come out of the discrimination faced in society. Rebecca spoke to the head of the village, G Palan and planned to build a cultural institution belonging to the Paniya tribe. The plan was however delayed due to financial constraints. 

Rebecca says that her days at Vimala College in Thrissur was a turning point in her life. She was selected as the Student Editor in the College Union election in 2018. She gained new friends during her college days. When she shared her dream, one of her friends named Adam Rafeeq gifted her a few books. That is how the dream of starting a library sprouted wings. 

Geethu and Jane, a couple from Ireland, Sunil Karakkattil from California, P O Thomas from the UK, Varghese Karakkada from Australia, and her Facebook friend B Bijithlal sent gifts to the tribal colony. Kites Foundation also contributed books to the library. The dream of starting a library was fulfilled when more than 1000 books were collected. 

The library is located in front of Palan’s house. Plus One student, G B Ramya is the librarian. Young kids and students have started borrowing books from the library. The initiative was backed by the first MBA graduate Manikuttan Paniyan, tribal artist Vinu Kidachulan, tribal poetess Sindhu Manganiyan. The next step is to construct a building for the library.