Dear all, It is only very rarely that we come across with a book-lover like Sri Ankegowda who has built up, with sustained a passion, dedication and single-handed efforts, a treasure-trove of books. People like him are one of the rarest of rare human beings. As a librarian, I offer my humble salutation and respects to Sri Ankegowda for his marvellous achievement. We, the members of the library fraternity in Karnataka, must come together, lead a delegation to the Chief Minster and request him to construct a suitable building either at Mysuru or Bengaluru to house this vast collection of rare books which should be of much value and utility to thousands of students, faculty, researchers and the general public. The Department of Public Libraries should be the nodal agency to take up this project of national importance. Once the collection is moved into the new building, the Government can name the library as Sri Ankegowda Public Library , develop it further with sufficient annual budgets, and bring it under the ambit of the public library system of the State. Only by this way we can honour and show our resects to Sri Ankegowda. If need be, we can even approach UNESCO for a matching contribution for this venture. This is my humble suggestion for the consideration of KALA and other library associations in the State. Best wishes to all M N Seetharamanformerly of NAL Library, Bangalore From: Ragaavendra_R@jubilantbiosys.com> To: lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2015 09:18:32 +0000 Subject: [LIS-Forum] BIBLIOPHILE WANTS HIS PUSTAKA MANE TO BE A NATIONAL LIBRARY
BIBLIOPHILE WANTS HIS PUSTAKA MANE TO BE A NATIONAL LIBRARY
It's a sprawling one-room house spread over half an acre. Just that it spills over with books, seven lakh of them to be precise.And the three-member family that owns the house and the books have been literally driven to the margins of the room, a makeshift wall made of book racks carving out a rabbit hole of a living space.
Aptly named Pustaka Mane (house of books), the repository houses titles on a plethora of subjects --from Shakespeare's dramas to Harry Potter series to ancient Vedas to books on software and even personality development. Located around a kilometre from Pandavapura railway station, near Srirangapatna, Mandya district, the library is the brainchild of sexagenarian Ankegowda M.
Students and scholars from Mysuru, Mandya, Bengaluru and, occasionally, outside the country land here to dig into Ankegowda's literary treasure trove.
Ankegowda, 68, has been a bibliophile from the time he can remember. "When I was in Class IX, I would purchase books on Swami Vivekananda for 25 paise. My villagers had no exposure to books. That's when I decided all kinds of books must be available under one roof," he recalls.
And from then to now, books are all that have mattered to this man.Employed as the chief time officer with a sugar factory in Pandavapura, Ankegowda opted for voluntary retirement so that he could take up book collection as a full-time job.He never purchased vehicles nor invested in other assets. Instead, around a decade ago, he sold a piece of land in Mysuru for around Rs 10 lakh. The current value of that land is close to a crore.
His wife Vijayalakshmi recalls the days when Ankegowda would bring in loads of books every time he got incentives and bonus.
"While many of his col leagues brought vehicles or invested in land, my husband would bring tomes and tomes of books.
From the railway station, he'd carry gunny bags full of books on his shoulders; this was a common scene," she says.
Ankegowda's son Sagar is pursuing his undergraduation in Kannada major at Pandavapura Government College.
"I have two pairs of trousers and white shirts," says Ankegowda.
Hari Khoday , a businessman who took up the rejuvenation work of Venugopala Swamy temple near KRS, visited Ankegowda's official quarters on hearing about his library . "Khoday was elated on seeing my collection; that time I had around 70,000 books. He bought this land and constructed the building in 2005," says Ankegowda.
Then chief minister Sadananda Gowda visited the library and promised a fund of Rs 2 crore. Eventually , Rs 25 lakh was allotted.
"Many writers, politicians and scholars praise me for my work. But managing finances is getting tough.I incur a monthly expenditure of Rs 70,000 just to maintain the library .I need Rs 60 lakh to construct another floor to place the overflowing books.In my absence, Pustaka Mane should become a national library ," he says.
Russell Smith, a US citizen, recently wrote in the visitors' ledger: "Among the wonders of India, this library stands tall. To me, it's greater than the Taj Mahal. It is unfortunate that Ankegowda is receiving no help."
Best Regards, Raghvendra R
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