Kerala's oldest library is manned by lepers Alleppy (Kerala) | July 23, 2004 3:14:59 PM IST http://www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=43686&cat=India Believe it or not! Lepers are manning an old library in Kerala's Alleppy District. The library is said to house a huge stock of ancient books, records and a huge stock of 16th century palm leaf manuscripts situated in Alleppy district with a collection of some ancient books, records and palm leaf manuscripts dating back to the 16th century. Run by the Leprosy Sanatorium, the library is presently home to about 400 lepers who have been tasked with the responsibility of looking after the rare books and manuscripts. K.G, Narayan, a leprosy patient and caretaker of the library, said that though there are several old records and manuscripts, maintenance is a problem as there are very few educated patients left. "Here we have many kinds of old records and manuscripts and the paintings inside are all drawn by the patients. We preserve it and take great care of the manuscripts. Most of the educated in- patients have already left the sanatorium, here there is no one to man this place now," he said. There are nearly four million leprosy patients in the country, and they are amongst the high-risk communities in need of massive support. (ANI) Believe it or not! Lepers are manning an old library in Kerala's Alleppy District. The library is said to house a huge stock of ancient books, records and a huge stock of 16th century palm leaf manuscripts situated in Alleppy district with a collection of some ancient books, records and palm leaf manuscripts dating back to the 16th century. Run by the Leprosy Sanatorium, the library is presently home to about 400 lepers who have been tasked with the responsibility of looking after the rare books and manuscripts. K.G, Narayan, a leprosy patient and caretaker of the library, said that though there are several old records and manuscripts, maintenance is a problem as there are very few educated patients left. "Here we have many kinds of old records and manuscripts and the paintings inside are all drawn by the patients. We preserve it and take great care of the manuscripts. Most of the educated in- patients have already left the sanatorium, here there is no one to man this place now," he said. There are nearly four million leprosy patients in the country, and they are amongst the high-risk communities in need of massive support. (ANI) =============================================== Sent in by: Dr.P.Vyasamoorthy, Advisor, Virtual Information Centre, ICICI Knowledge Park, Hyderabad 500078 INDIA Email: vyasamoorthy@icicikp.com Phone - Office: +91(40)23480053 Fax: +91(40)23480007 Phone Residence: +91(40)27846631