THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The treasured newspaper cuttings in the possession of Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma were handed over to Avittom Thirunal Grandhasala in a programme held at Krishnavilasom Levy Hall in the city the other day. In front of a packed audience, the head of the Travancore Royal family gifted his valuable possession to the 70-year-old-library. A wide range of topics under four major titles - religion, education, medicine, cooking and his areas of interest - were well arranged in separate files. There were 20 such bundles altogether. To ensure better readability, Uthradom Thirunal has also included pictures in between. In his speech, Uthradom Thirunal remarked that the untimely demise of his beloved nephew prompted him to involve in a hobby of collecting newspaper scraps on jokes so that he could forget the grief over his death. He extended the depth of collection by adding scraps from ‘Madras Mail,’ a newspaper that used to be published from the then Madras for some years from 1935, which was a detailed chronicler of the events in the princely state of Travancore. It also imparted him with an added advantage of retaining a sharp memory, he said. The collection would be a significant account of the history of Travancore, said acclaimed historian M G Sasibhooshan, in his presidential address. The library authorities told City Express that they will keep the materials inside a separate cupboard in an air-conditioned room in the library for reference. S Raveendran Nair, president, Sree Avittom Thirunal Grandhasala (SATG) Trust, welcomed the gathering. S Rajan, secretary, proposed a vote of thanks.
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