Cultural History
Mangalapuram is enriched by a brilliant cultural heritage. It is a fact of great pride for this village that it was chosen as the field of action (Karmabhoomi) by figures like Sree Narayana Guru, Kumaran Asan, and Ayyankali, who made the upper class bow down, as well as the litterateur C. V. Raman Pillai.
Although the C.V. Bhavanam (C. V. Raman Pillai's house) in Venkulamthope has fallen victim to the ravages of time, the Asan Bhavanam (Kumaran Asan's house) in Thonnakkal is still preserved in its original state. An unforgettable event in the history of Mangalapuram during the Renaissance period was the consecration ceremony performed by Sree Narayana Guru Swamikal at the Murukkumpuzha Sreekalakandeswara Temple. The SNV Library established in Murukkumpuzha was also formed during this same era.
The first English school established on the initiative of Kumaran Asan and the pre-existing Maniyanvilakam Primary School played a huge role in the development and evolution of the region. The voice of the national movement, the Indian National Congress, was brought to the village by Annoor Das and M. A. Khan, who led lives of sacrifice. This was a result of their foreign exposure.
Asan Memorial (Ashan Smarakam)
Thonnakkal is the village where the great poet Mahakavi Kumaran Asan—who, in his brief life, excelled in diverse fields of action as a poet, editor, book publisher, SNDP Yogam General Secretary, legislator, farmer, industrialist, and householder—bought land and built a house to live in.
The Thonnakkal Asan Memorial is located in a serene and beautiful spot away from the city's hustle, right near the National Highway, about twenty-four kilometers north of the capital city in Thiruvananthapuram district. Passing through the gate on the roadside and walking a few steps west along the laterite path leads you to the poet's memorial building. The Asan Bhavanam is preserved here without a single scratch. The great poet's mud cottage still stands here in its exact original condition, just as Professor Joseph Mundassery described the sights of Thonnakkal.
About the house, Mundassery wrote: "A small thatched hut with two rooms measuring twenty-and-three-quarters by sixteen, and a kitchen at the lower level. Mud walls. They have been neatly plastered. No ceiling. Cracks in the roof. The interior and the verandah have been swept and plastered with cow dung. The hut doesn't look particularly neat."
This single-room 'chavidi' (a small resting place/room) witnessed the moments of the poet's literary creation. It was from here that he steered the great movements for the oppressed. He had transformed the extensive surrounding area into a farmland. It was in this mud hut that he received Sree Narayana Guru Swamikal, his entire life's essence. The cot, table, and chair used by Asan are still here, just as they were then, along with a very old photograph of the poet.
It was Professor Joseph Mundassery, then the Minister of Education, who initiated the steps to acquire the great poet's house and laid the foundation stone for the memorial building. Although demands had risen from the respective regions to construct memorials in Kayikkara (Asan's birthplace) and Pallana (where his mortal remains rest), Mundassery decided to acquire the house and its surroundings in Thonnakkal, where Asan had lived, and build the memorial there. After all, the soil of Thonnakkal was also very dear to Asan.
Mundassery announced the government's wish to build the memorial in Thonnakkal during a birthday celebration in Kayikkara. Immediately after the Minister came out of the meeting, Prabhakaran, the younger son and heir of the great poet, informed him that he was willing to donate the land free of cost. Following this, he handed over the registered deed in the name of the Governor to the Minister on January 26, 1958. This was the first time in Kerala that the house of a poet was acquired by the government.
The foundation stone for the memorial was laid on November 7. The committee, which included Mundassery Master, R. Sankar (the Chief Minister when the work was completed), and Prabhakaran, decided that the inauguration of the memorial should be carried out with the complete cooperation of the public. Accordingly, the public was convened, and programs were formulated. The participation of people and funds transformed the inauguration into a grand and colorful event. Literary giants such as Mundassery Master, M. K. Sanu, Sooranad Kunjan Pillai, Thakazhi, Dev, K. Balakrishnan, Lalithambika Antharjanam, Dr. Puthussery Ramachandran, and Kuttippuzha Krishnapilla all participated in the program.