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Biography of Dr Palpu (1863- 1950)

A biography of Dr Palpu has been just published in November 2002.


This highly informative and authoritative book contains not only the whole story of Palpu's struggle for social and educational equality, but also copies of many historial documents starting from 1891. Ezhavas in Travancore had just 8% literarcy which was mainly attributed to the traditionally educated Ayurvedic physicians the community had. Almost none had English Education.

Palpu's father Thachakkudy Padmanabhan learned English from Christian missionaries and tried to appear for the examination to become a jurist. But because of his caste, the Divan of Travancore barred him from appearing for the examination. That was the state of affairs then!

Palpu's brother P Velayudhan was doing his B.A at the Maharajah's College Ernakulam. But because of financial difficulties Palpu had great difficulty in joining an English School. At last Palpu got private coaching at an Englishman Mr Fernandez. The fee was "four chakrams" (15 paise) per month. Palpu had to sit at the back bench alone in the English School in Trivandrum. Luckily again an Englishman was the Headmaster. Passed matriculation in 1883.

It should be noted that Palpu joined College but had tough time meeting the fees. he tried to raise some money by giving tuition to the children of some Europeans in the evening. [This means that Native Palpu's English was good and accepted by the Englishmen! Compare with the language circus going on in Kerala today!]

Palpu passed the Medical College entrance examination but could not join because of his caste! This prompted him to appear for the entrance exam for Madras Medical Collge. That is how Palpu ended up getting his LMS degree from Madras.

Again getting a job in Travancore was a problem. First appointment was in Madras at a salary of Rs 70 per month, then in Bangalore. The rest is history.

The book contains how Dr Palpu met Swami Vivekananda in Bangalore. This happened prior to Swami visiting Travancore. Palpu was the Superintendent of Mental Hospital then. Swami got a clear picture of Kerala from the doctor. It is not accidental that Swami called Kerala a "Lunatic Asylum"! Dr Palpu's respect for Swami is reflected when years later he named the SNDP's literary magazine "Vivekodayam"!

The book contains copies of various documents. Here is an example from the Appendix:

The book "Dr Palpu" in Malayalam is written by Velayudhan Panikkassery, historian and researcher better known for his books on medieval Indian and Kerala History especially through the eyes of Arab/Western travellers and writers including Marco Polo, Al Baruni and Ibn Batuta. For the current book, Mr Panikkassery has spent enormous time in collecting valuable documents related to the period in question. The book is published by Current Books and is available at the brances of Current Books and DC Books throughout Kerala.