Varakappilli Illam opens treasure trove of history

KOZHIKODE: Varakappilli Illam near Pilakkad in Thrissur has turned out to be a treasure trove of history with researchers of Calicut University History department  finding many thaaliyolas (palmleaf manuscripts), letters and photos  from trunks in this ancient house. The manuscripts written in Sanskrit and ancient Malayalam script is expected to throw light on the local variations of Sanskrit that prevailed in Kerala as well as information regarding the books in Sanskrit on a wide range of topics including many books on Ayurveda.

The History department is planning to join hands with other departments including Sanskrit to decipher the manuscripts. The manuscripts include more than 50 books of which a majority are related to Ayurveda. “Those manuscripts have huge research value. Detailed research of the manuscripts will help us to understand the translation tradition in Kerala, books on Ayurveda and also about Kerala’s architecture science,” said Calicut University Sanskrit department head Dr N.K Sundareswaran. “It is learnt that some of the classic literature translated into Malayalam, books like ‘Manushyalaya Chandrika’ which detail vaaasthu shasthra etc  are also part of the manuscript collection which is definitely helping our knowledge about those branches,” he added.

The University is also planning to conduct a workshop to know more about the manuscripts in association with the Kerala State Archives department. “We have been conducting such workshops in many ancient houses. Those Sanskrit books found from Varakappilli Illam played an instrumental role in the social renaissance movement among the upper-class which in turn paved the way to the emergence of people like EMS Namboodiripad,” opined Dr P Sivadasan, History department head who led the examination of manuscripts. “Knowledge from local records would help us to better document our history,” he added. The department will also extend help to digitise the manuscripts and to scientifically preserve it.