Palam Kalyana Sundaram
A retired Tamil Nadu librarian who gave away his salary for decades and founded the charity Anbu Paalam, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.
P. Kalyanasundaram, widely known as Paalam Kalyanasundaram, is a retired librarian and the founder president of the charity Anbu Paalam. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2023 in the field of social work, from Tamil Nadu [1].
A librarian who gave his pay away
Kalyanasundaram was born on 10 May 1940 [2]. He took a BA in Tamil from Thiagarajar College, Madurai, and a certificate in library studies from Madras University in 1963 [2]. On 25 August 1963 he became librarian of Sri Kumaragurubara Swamigal Arts College at Srivaikuntam in Thoothukudi district [2]. Over his career he gave his entire salary to people in need and met his own expenses by working as a server in a hotel [2]. He also earned several degrees by correspondence while in service [2].
Anbu Paalam
Through Anbu Paalam, a name meaning “bridge of love”, he has worked to help poor people through education and health care [2]. Since retiring in 1998 he has given all his time to this service [2]. In 2013 the former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam presided over the organisation’s diamond jubilee and urged students to take him as their role model [2].
In 1995 Goa University named him India’s best librarian [2]. His biography has been published in Tamil, English and Kannada [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2023: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 21 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2023: citation for Palam Kalyana Sundaram — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 21 October 2026.
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