Dear All, Please see the news below. A French tourist is helping to save a library with a rare collection. I did a further research after reading this news and found a website exist giving the details about the collection and project. See http://www.pandratacircle.com/. I feel this could be a very useful library for Sanskrit scholars. Probably our Library Associations can help them in making this project successful. A French touch to Gokarna's oldest library TIMES NEWS NETWORK Karwar: Study Circle, the oldest library in Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district, is being renovated with the help of a foreign tourist. The library, which is home to a collection of rare and valuable books, had fallen into a state of disrepair without proper management. Elias Tabet, a French tourist, has now joined hands with the owner to revive the library. Tabet has been a regular visitor to Gokarna for the past 10 years. Five years ago, he stumbled upon the library when he visited G M Vedeshwar's home, and was surprised by the rare books he found there. He then promised to help Vedeshwar renovate the library. Tabet, with the support of other French tourists, formed Pandrata Circle, an organization to garner help and donations for the library's restoration. He prepared a detailed note about the collection of books in the library and circulated it among book lovers in France. He has collected donations from French companies and individuals, apart from 5,000 euros from the French embassy. The library owned by 82- year-old Vedeshwar has more than 4,000 rare Sanskrit books. The collection includes volumes of Sanskrit literature, philosophy, mythology, the Vedas, and more than 100 writings on palmyra leaves which are over 600 years old. Halegannada and Hosagannada, both published in Bombay about 175 years ago, are part of the valuable collection. The Samhita, Bramhana, Aranyaka, Rig Veda and Sihina, published in Sanskrit by the Maharaja of Mysore can also be found here. Apart from these, the library boasts of an impressive collection of books in Marathi, French, Hindi, German and 38 other languages. Tabet has decided to convert the collection into an online library first. Source: Times of India, Bangalore, 07th March 2011, page 7 Regards Madhuresh Singhal Manager - Knowledge Services Advinus Therapeutics Ltd 21 & 22, Phase 2, Peenya Industrial Area, Bangalore - 560058 Phone: +91 80 28394959 E-mail: madhureshsinghal@yahoo.com http://nettalk2.tripod.com/ Visit us at ToxExpo, 6-10 March 2011 in Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C., Booth# 1228 ************************************************************************************************* This email and its attachments are confidential and proprietary to Advinus Therapeutics Ltd. and are meant for the intended recipient only. If you are not the intended recipient, do not take any actions based on the contents of this message, except to permanently delete the message and its attachments and inform the sender immediately. ************************************************************************************************* -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.