Keralam’s Lok Bhavan names new library after Thunchathu Ezhuthachan

Keralam's Lok Bhavan names new library after Thunchathu Ezhuthachan The library.

Key points

• Formerly known as Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor was renamed Lok Bhavan in December 2025.
• The library, which has around 10, 000 books on diverse subjects, will be open to the public, the Governor remarked.
• Collections include the complete works of Swami Vivekananda and a number of works by the English humorist P.G.
• The new library at present occupies the ground floor of a building on the sprawling Lok Bhavan campus.

Keralam's Lok Bhavan names new library after Thunchathu Ezhuthachan The library. It has around 10, 000 books on diverse subjects, will be open to the public, Governor Rajendra Arlekar notes. Published – August 21, 2026 06: 11 pm IST – THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. The Lok Bhavan premises in Thiruvananthapuram Photo Credit: Nirmal Harindran.

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Friday stressed the need to carry forward the legacy of Thunchathu Ezhuthachan, the poet and writer considered as the father of modern Malayalam literature.

Mr. Arlekar was inaugurating a new library at Lok Bhavan which has been named 'Thunchan Smrithi Library.' "We have named it after the great writer, poet and saint-like figure of Malayalam literature, " he remarked.

Meanwhile, the library, which has around 10, 000 books on diverse subjects, will be open to the public, the Governor remarked. Lok Bhavan already had a small library, Mr. Arlekar remarked. The bigger, better-stocked facility was developed as part of the efforts to create Lok Bhavan accessible to the public, according to him. For context, the collection features books gifted to Lok Bhavan and those purchased over the years. "We invite suggestions from the people of Keralam to improve the facilities in the library, " he remarked.

For context, the new library at present occupies the ground floor of a building on the sprawling Lok Bhavan campus. Sections include history, fiction, poetry, culture, political science, science, economics, philosophy, music, journalism, psychology and encyclopaedias. Books on religions including Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism, those on agriculture, medicine and health, Indian and Keralam economies, and the Constitution are additionally available.

Collections include the complete works of Swami Vivekananda and a number of works by the English humorist P.G. Wodehouse. Writer George Onakkoor, poets V. Madhusoodanan Nair and Rosemary, filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Kerala University Vice-Chancellor (in-charge) Mohanan Kunnummal were among those present.

Taken together, the developments around keralam's Lok Bhavan names new library after Thunchathu Ezhuthachan point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.