After years of waiting, work is finally set to begin on a memorial to Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati, a prominent Indian philosopher, in his native village nestled in the foothills of the Western Ghats.
Aruvapulam grama panchayat in Pathanamthitta bought 97 cents of land in Mlanthadam, his birthplace, to set up a memorial and study center in his name. The panchayat used the prize money it received for winning the Swaraj Trophy set up by the state government for the best grama panchayat in Kerala to purchase the land.
The title deeds were officially handed over at a short ceremony held at Vidyanikethan Ashram, founded by Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati, on Tuesday (October 28, 2025). The event was attended by several of his pupils who had come from abroad to commemorate his birth anniversary, which falls on November 2.
CP Mohanan Nair who sold the land for the project at a reduced price was also felicitated on the occasion.
According to Aruvapulam panchayat president Reshma Mariyam Roy, the proposal for a memorial in Mlanthadam was first brought forward by the local SNDP union during the Nava Kerala Sadas held in Konni in December 2023. “Finding a suitable place took time as we explored several places, including Vakayar and V. Kottayam,” she said before finalizing this plot.
The state government has sanctioned ₹7 crore for the initial phase of the project, which will be implemented through the tourism department, Ms. Roy added.
Project costs
Konni MLA KU Janeesh Kumar confirmed the development and said that the cost of the project is estimated to be around ₹50 crore. “The key components of the memorial will include a library, outdoor auditorium, seminar halls, etc., among others. Once the site plan is finalized and technical sanction secured, the work will begin immediately,” he said.
Officials said the tourism department has already engaged a consultation to prepare the master plan. A land survey has been completed for the project. Apart from the memorial, the authorities are considering incorporating other places associated with his life such as the school where he had his primary education and Rakshasan Para, a rock formation on the edge of the Pathanamthitta forest that he attended, with the memorial.
Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati, a scholar of Advaita philosophy and teachings of Sree Narayana Guru, was born in Mlanthadam on November 2, 1924 as the eldest son of Raghava Panicker and Vamakshiyamma. As a teacher at several foreign universities, he was actively involved in the environmental protection movement in his native village in the 1990s.
Published – 29 Oct 2025 20:13 IST
