HYDERABAD: The Sir Nizamat Jung Memorial Library in Narayanguda, that has been shut for around two decades, will be thrown open to the public soon. The library was closed since 1993, perhaps a little later, according to locals. It was completely forgotten until Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society (TMREIS) took the library on lease from Telangana State Waqf Board and initiated the restoration works from June 2018. TMREIS will soon officially inaugurate ‘The House of Wisdom’ or Nizamat Jung Memorial Library.
Since the library was closed for almost two decades, many books had fallen prey to termites. “Thankfully, 90 per cent of the books have been restored,” said Mohammed Azam, conservator of the library.
There are over 10,000 hardcover, leatherbound, and cloth-bound books in this library that are arranged in wooden and aluminium racks. The collection includes volumes of poetry and history of everything that happened before the 1950s. “The library is still closed for the public. Outsiders are not allowed to read the books until every book is catalogued. Readers need to wait for the official inaugural,” said Azam.
According to the stone foundation laid outside the building, the memorial library was inaugurated by the then President of India, Zakir Hussain, in 1967. “Nizamat Jung had collected a large number of books for his knowledge and reference. He was a poet who loved history, culture, and education,” said Anuradha Reddy, convenor, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
Nizamat Jung Bahadur studied Law from the Cambridge University and served as a judge in Parbhani court in Nanded besides Chief Justice of Hyderabad Deccan High Court. The cornerstone says Nizamat Jung Bahadur was a “Poet and Statesman.”