The personal diaries of late Prof. T. I. Poonen, former teacher of Union Christian College, Aluva were handed over to Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) by the College. The gesture was as part of a special collaborative academic assistance from UC College for KCHR’s flagship project ‘Digitizing Kerala’s Past’. Dr P J Cherian, Director, KCHR received the diaries (1921 – 1976) from Dr. P. Thomas Mathew, Principal of the College in the presence of Commodore T. I. Punnen, Prof. Poonen’s grandson, on 8th January 2016.Prof. Poonen, an eminent historian and a gold medalist from Madras Christian College, served the college in the early years from 1924 to 1947. His expertise in the field of the Portuguese and Dutch periods in Kerala history is widely acknowledged. He has authored influential works like Dutch Hegemony in Malabar and its Collapse AD 1663-1795, A Survey of the Rise of the Dutch Power in Malabar 1603-78 and Dutch beginnings in India Proper 1580-1615. The authenticity of his writings was on account of his ability to read the Dutch language. He was awarded the ‘Doctorate’ after his retirement from the college.He also guided many others to obtain their doctorates.‘Digitizing Kerala’s past’ envisages creating an online repository of historical evidence, which would help in conserving the historical, cultural and intellectual legacies of the people of Kerala. Diaries and Memoirs are valuable windows for looking into the past .Although they are subjective memories, they help us gain an understanding of a wider social and cultural context and even eras. The Department of History along with the UCC community hopes to get actively involved in the transcription project with the help of its faculty and students, which would be a befitting tribute to Prof. Poonen, along with providing tremendous insights into the history of UC College. The digital version of these diaries will be made available to the public by KCHR at the website www.dkp.kchr.ac.in. The originals will be available at UC College archaeological museum.
