Pallikkonam Rajeev

Pallikkonam Rajeev is known as a local historian, environmental activist, artist, and musician. He serves as the State General Secretary of the Kerala Centre for Local History and Heritage Studies. At the local level, he is also the Secretary of Kottayam Naattukoottam, a heritage conservation organisation. For over a decade, he has focused on the study of the ancient and medieval history of the region lying between the Pamba and Periyar rivers. In 2018, he was awarded the UNESCO–Sahapedia Fellowship for bringing to light the history of the multilingual school started by the Dutch in Kottayam in AD 1668. He has taken part in numerous history seminars and presented papers on a range of subjects. He is a member of the Kerala History Congress Executive Committee and of INTACH. He is regularly invited to various programmes of the KCHR (Kerala Council for Historical Research). He has participated in the Heritage Round Table of the annual seminar of the Cosmos Malabaricus research project, a joint initiative of Leiden University in the Netherlands and KCHR. He leads the archaeological exhibitions, seminars, heritage walks, and historical study trips organised by Kottayam Naattukoottam. At the academic level, he conceives and implements action plans centred on colleges for the study of local history.

By adopting the practical approach of channelling information gained from historical and heritage research into environmental and water conservation work, he helped make environmental activism more accessible to the public. Creating awareness among local residents on the theme of “river and culture” energised efforts to revive local water bodies. He prepared the preliminary framework for the ongoing Meenachil–Meenanthara–Kodoorar river reintegration project aimed at protecting the Meenachil river. Drawing on his extensive understanding of the layout of the Meenachil river basin, he has also served as Vice-Chairman of the committee formulating the district planning scheme.

A Bachelor's degree holder in Fine Arts, Pallikkonam Rajeev served for 29 years as Senior Designer of Balarama, the children's publication of Malayala Manorama. His effective application of modern digital technology's possibilities in design, illustration, and colour composition within children's publishing became a model followed across the field.

Trained in both the theory and practice of music, Pallikkonam Rajeev has performed flute concerts titled “Muraleenadamadhuri” at numerous venues.

He completed his pre-degree at CMS College, Kottayam, followed by a bachelor's degree in Mathematics, and a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the College of Fine Arts. He began his career as a visualiser at an advertising agency. He designed the Sunday edition of Malayala Manorama between 1995 and 1997. He subsequently joined MM Publications, from where he retired in March 2026.

The author of numerous historical articles, Rajeev is currently focused on writing a set of books on various subjects relating to the culture and history of Kottayam.