Malappuram  :

Olavattur was once a socially and economically backward, but historically important village near Kondotty in the district. The place is now facing a fallout due to rapid growth and development, thanks to the inflow of gulf money through non-resident Keralites (NRK) in the village.

It is in this context, a book, ‘Olavattur Nalvazhikal Nattuvazhikal’, which documents the local history of the village becomes relevant. The book is 600 pages, prepared by a collective of local people, documents the cultural and social history of more than 70 local areas in Olavattur panchayat and the history of 81 traditional families in the region. The book details the six generations of each traditional family in the region and also describes in detail the eminent and historically significant persons in the region and their contribution. It also records the statistical data and gives a picture of major achievements of the village.

According to Rajesh Monji of Ideal Cultural Association, which published the book, the document is a record of myth, folklore, customs and people of Olavattur.

“Initially it was started by some friends and later we extended our plan to publish a book. We documented the history after interviewing more than a 100 elderly people including freedom fighters in the village. We are hopeful that the book, which chalks out the changes in the cultural and social changes through the past to the present, would be an authentic book of reference”, he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / August 28th, 2015