Chennai: A small and narrow pathway from the new building leads to a magnificent hall with a large reading room and beautiful teak wood bookshelves of the old Connemara Public Library in Egmore. The rusty but comforting scent of the old books welcomes one and all. A truncated semicircle shelters the hall, ornamented acanthus leaves and flowers embellish the huge pillars and light shines through the exquisite Belgium glass panels.
Tuesday (23 April), witnessed a massive crowd as the old library opened its doors from 10.30 am to 5 pm for the common public to celebrate World Book Day. The celebration continues for three days every year to mark the day. Silence fills your ears as you walk past this Anglo-Italian structure, providing its visitors a break from the citys hustle and bustle. “The brainchild of Henry Irwin, this library was inaugurated 5 December, 1896. The chairs and tables, donated by Queen Elizabeth, still look new as ever with their intricate details and minute carvings,” informed Gayatri, a staff member.
As its one of the four National Depository Libraries and a UNESCO Information Centre, it is home to a copy of every Indian publication. The shelves are loaded with books which are a 1,000 years old, but only those in proper condition are displayed. From battles to biographies, paintings to pottery, mathematics to Mona Lisa, each of these wide array of books has been painstakingly preserved for centuries like the Geneva Bible (1560), Gnanamuraiyan Vilakkam (1781) and Renaissance of Hinduism (1944).
Laying hands on a book containing the minute details of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings, a blueprint book of the Connemara Library and a book on fishes where the colour cannot be smudged by water or any other liquid is an out-of-the-world experience.
“The rare books are accessible only to researchers and archaeologists with prior permission. As most of these books are a single copy, they are not provided to the common public to avoid any kind of damage. Except for 2-3 members of the staff, even we are not allowed in the old building,” she added.
A total of 56 staff work to maintain this treasure trove which receives 1,300 English and 600 Tamil journals a month and 160 newspapers in different languages every day. With over 600 visitors on the first day, the library expects a minimum of 2,000 by the end of three days. Young and old, rich and poor, this place attracts without discrimination everyone as a powerful storehouse of knowledge and imagination filled between the covers of books.
“Although the growth of the Internet has broadened our horizons, it has also blurred the foreground,” said K Subash, a government school teacher expressing his concern over the diminishing significance of libraries among the youth.
In contrast to the modern structure and constant hum of the air-conditioner, accompanied by the sound of turning pages in the new building, the dust shimmers in the light and there is the smell of aged wood in the old building. So, cut yourself from the mad run for a day and visit the Connemara Library, as it is the only place that has four walls yet feels as vast as the universe.
(The article was written by Hunar Mehta and Sakshi Shah)