The vintage library in Allhabad

Thornton-Mayne Library - sounded very grand and I had to see it. It looked like a church from outside and inside; a Gothic one at that, with a rose window and the praying arches, I could have been in a French village church:so catholic.

Yet this building was built as a library in the late 19th century and the libray came into existence in 1898. The two architects were Thornton and Mayne. They had a large population subscribing and the deposit was 50Rs ;some of which are still deposited in the the Allahabad Bank in Calcutta.

It has a million books, old and new , mostly old and about 50,000 subscribers. the present fee is Rs 16 /year and the deposit is Rs 800. The users are mostly students who are studying for competitive exams and those preparing for IAS. Some spattering of research scholars do use the library. There are archives of the newspaper Pioneer since 1905, a separate room has been dedicated to these decaying paper bundles.

We found a dark, musty room with many rare books, some on cuneiform swriting, on how to make marble temples, on Britis Army maps, on rare paintings; all piled up in a dusty cupboard open to elements. When asked about their preserving methodology, they said once in a while they put these books out in the sun! rats have their share of the books.

We found three rows full of well bound "punch" issues since 1840 read by none at the moment but in fairly good condition. I have been offered the previlege of reading it if I desired, thanks to my Husband's position.

The best discovery was that of a book written for the students of the Madras Medical College by Surgeon Major General Sibthorpe in 1903. I had goose pimples holding the book in my hand and my pulse rate was way beyond a new borns'.

It is such a shame that we have such treasures and we have many problems such as :1. Nobody knows about it. they do not even have a list of the old , rare books they have .the researchers of the world do not know that these books exist to peruse them 2. knowledge about preservin g these rare publishings is nil in the librarians in charge. 3. Govt is apathetic to the state of the books and wastes money on politicians and their tamashas.

The exteriors are well maintained I must accept but, the most important content in a library are its books and they are in a poor state. There was an antique looking Chinese : there are no records of it existence nor a history. I am sure it one of the spoils of war or a gift from a visiting dignitary of the yester years. it is kept in the corner of a room exposed .

Anand Bhawan

Saturday, missing Golf, on a hot summer's day is not a good day to visit monuments. I do not regret visiting Anand Bhavan, back in the cool climes of my bedroom yesterday afternoon. The two hours when I was not wiping the torrents of sweat that flowed over my body, I was spellbound by the magic this building wove around me - I had my hair standing hearing the history of Independence struggle unfold in all those empty walls of this magnificient white and blue home of Motilal Nehru. Though it is always referred in context with Jawahar Lal Nehru, actually Allhabad and Ananda Bhavan is all about Motilal Nehru.
The stories of his practice as a lawyer, the wealth he had amassed, his entry into, the freedom struggle, his support that infused life into Congress in his own quiet but firm manner, his large heartedness to give Congress its base to function, are all legendary in this city of Holy piligrimages. A visit to Anand Bhawan as a part of a pilgrimage is well deserved.
Anand Bhavan , the original was bought from the founder of Aligarh Muslim University.Indira Gandhi was born here. Jawahar Lal Nehru was born in Meerganj in a rented house when Motilal Nehru was a young aspiring lawyer.
In the 20 acres that surrounded the house , Motilal Nehru built a house of his own design suiting his requirements, next to the old one . This house has only 12 rooms as compared to the original which has 22 rooms. The new residence was also named Anand Bhavan while the old one was renamed Swaraj Bhavan and was donated to the Indian National Congress as their National Office. Most of the decisions leading towards our Independance was taken in this house. Rajiv Gandhi had introduced audio-visual S&L show in every room to transport us to the last century thus recreating history for us as we amble along from room to room.
The new Anand bhavan is a cheerful house painted in Bright colours of White and Blue where Indira Gandhi was married. She dedicated this piece of history to the Nation when she inherited it from her father. Such is the benevelonce of a great daughter of the Nation. She grew here with the Netas of the land discussing, arguing, contesting, agreeing for a unified cause. She got groomed in this ambience with nobleness to protect and develop this Nation. She had a a forerunner in her grand father to emulate in her largesse.
The Planetorium stands in one corner of the garden where JLN who was impressed by the shiny stars on those dark nights in the jail, brought into his home for continuity. Kamala Nehru hospital initiated by Mahatma Gandhi in her memory still functions in another corner of the plot.
A cartoon by Shankar caught my eye : There is Jawahar Lal Nehru holding the hand of Independent India personified as a young Girl running away from a mob of big fat humans trying to join them. He is saying" lets run ahead before they catch us." These fat hooligan looking beings are Communalism, casteism, religious fanatics, abject poverty and a few more unwanted elements.
It is sad that the two did not run fast enough !