Collecting books, the crowd-funding way @ Pusthaka payattuis
Pusthaka payattuis for a library
Panam payattu, the
traditional crowd-funding drive popular in Malabar, had a literary makeover at
Kuttiady 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 Kuttiady, headmaster of M.I. Upper
Primary School, Kuttiady, says he mooted the idea of pusthaka payattu to
cash in on the popular fund-raising method in areas such as Kuttiady,
Nadapuram, and Vadakara.
Social media
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, Kuttiady grama panchayat president, inaugurated the drive.
Contribute money too
Mr. Jamal said people from Kuttiady, Mokeri,
Thottilppalam, Perambra, Nadapuram, Vadakara, Velam, and Maruthomkara chipped
in with their contribution. Those who could not donate books contributed money
up to Rs. 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.
Regain reading habit
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, which was losing out to
the advent of the social media.
“District Collector U.V. Jose will formally
inaugurate the library on October 21,” he added.
Source | The Hindu | 5th October 2017
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Manager @ Knowledge
Repository
Khaitan & Co
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