A 'FOREST' OF STORIES

From tiger tales in century-old journals to tranquil reading corners under the trees, the Forest Central Library at Vazhuthacaud preserves Kerala's green heritage while opening its doors to a new generation of readers

- APARNA NAIR

The Indian Forester has clocked over 150 years as a journal on scientific forestry, carrying reports on flora and fauna, along with personal accounts of foresters.

Its older editions feature gripping stories—from man-eating tigers attacking lads in villages adjoining forest belts, to Madras government resolutions banning the concept of village forests, to curious notes on flesh-eating plants and the peculiar saltiness of coconut milk in the Sunderbans.

To get lost in such tales, one need not go far. A stroll into the Forest Central Library at the Forest Headquarters in Vazhuthacaud would do.

The place is like a stream of forest stories and knowledge, nestled in a verdant patch amidst the city's bustle. Established first in 1835 in Kollam, the library is rich not just in heritage but also in its ability and intent to impart knowledge in the traditional way—books as repositories, libraries as the source.

Officials believe the library was probably begun as a space to house important documents, reports, studies, and magazines on forestry and related sciences, for the reference of forest department staff and researchers.

"But no one knows exactly who founded it, except that when the forest office was shifted from Kollam to Thiruvananthapuram in 1920, the library too was moved along. We are trying to trace the history of its exact origin," says the librarian, Aseena M.