BENGALURU: In 1942, during the Quit Indian movement and when Gandhi called for people to unite to free India from Britishers, a handful of youngsters from Malleshwaram were willing to do anything to prove their commitment. Frustrated that they could do little from this little corner of India, they resorted to hooliganism. Siddavanahalli Krishna Sharma came to know of them and reached out to them. He helped them channelise their energies into the freedom movement.
The group gradually began to understand the Gandhian principles. One of their initiatives was to collect money -- in 50 paise, 10 paise and 20 paise -- to celebrate Gandhi Jayanthi. After the celebrations, they were left with Rs 120 and after thinking over what to do with this, decided to buy 25 books to start a library “Gandhi Seva Sangha” in 1942.
But the library was banned as soon as it was opened because its name had the word “seva”. “We changed the name to Gandhi Sahitya Sangha,” says one of the founders of the library, Dr H Sreenivasaiah. At 93, he retains the spirit that guided him through the freedom struggle.
“I saw Gandhi in close proximity when I was 9 years old,” he says. “He had come to collect money for Harijan Seva. Ever since, I’ve been trying to live the way he lived.” Sreenivasaiah still wears khadi everyday, a habit he developed at the age of 12.
The irony is that the library was managed by Sreenivasaih’s illiterate mother. “She even kept a ledger and tracked the borrowed books,” he says. “She played a very important role in the growth of the library because she understood the importance of reading.”
Under the British rule, this library kept books that were banned by the government. These included titles such as The Indian War of Independence by VD Savarkar, Gadinadu Gandhi by Abdul Khan and Books on Indian National Army. “The amusing bit is that the Britishers never suspected that we had these kind of books,” smiles Sreenivasaiah.
Whenever there was a crackdown on stores of such books, Gandhi Sahitya Sangha’s readers zealously guarded their treasure and kept reading them.
Rama Shehsan, 70, has been borrowing books from this library since 1957. He still comes thrice a year from Mysuru to read from its shelves.
“I do not think I will be able to finish the books in this library,” he says. “This is a library in which the rarest of books are available even today.”
The library does not restrict itself to books on freedom struggle, but also keeps books on spirituality and religious philosophies. It also has many first editions including of the Sacred Book of the East and Prabhuddha Karnataka.
After Independence, the library transformed into a literary hub of Bengaluru. Literary figures came here often for discussion and debates, a tradition that continues till date. Regulars included linguist and poet ThiNamShree or Aacharya Tirthapura Nanjundaiah Shrikantaiah, author Masti Venkatesha Iyengar and author G P Rajarathnam.
Sreenivasiah is sad that today’s youngster do little reading today. “They spend more time on their phones,” he says. “They are corrupted just as their leaders.”