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Fifty and going strong!

Books have become like any other products and sellers stock them based on their demand

PHOTO: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

BOOKS ARE HIS PASSION Varahalu Chetty with his son Gurumurthy and brother Narasimha Murthy at the Book Centre

Book Centre has turned 50. One may ask: So, what's great about it? There are a few other shops which have also completed over half-a-century in the book business. But then, this is no ordinary bookstore, it's a living library which reflects the cultural ethos of the City of Destiny.

Leading luminaries of the city, writers, poets, professors, students and the general public had enjoyed free access to the treasure trove of knowledge. Founded by Matta Varahalu Chetty along with his brother Narasimha Murthy during 1956-57, it was the first bookshop in Visakhapatnam to allow free access to readers.

Incidentally, his father M. Gurumurthy had published a weekly `Saraswathi' from the city 50 years ago and ran it successfully for sometime. He had established a printing press `Sri Sarada Makuta Mudraksharasala' way back in 1875.

Though Varahalu Chetty is basically a bookseller, he doesn't insist on visitors buying books. He is content if they read them with interest. He feels sad that these days people have little time to read good books. His bookstore was a venue for literary and cultural discussions in those days.

Their house was the venue of the meetings for a separate Andhra movement by Potti Sriramulu and other important discussions. Though Mr. Varahalu Chetty was not a member of any political party, he used to attend those meetings.

The shop was the focal point for eminent writers like Ronanki Appalaswamy, Arudra, Raavi Sastry, Baliwada Kanta Rao, professors of Andhra University and students to meet and exchange their views.

"People used to read a lot of books including fiction and novels in the good old days. Now they are content with reading books on personality development, competition and spirituality," he recalls.

"Now books have become like any other product and sellers stock them depending on their demand. In the past, at least one copy of all titles used to be stocked by books shops but now one has to run from one shop to another to find the title of their choice. Sellers are switching over to the sale of stationery and CDs as that is fetching more money," he laments.

Mr. Varahalu Chetty was in the forefront in raising donations and advocating the cause of setting up a college in the city during the 1950s. A committee was formed with him as the secretary, Tenneti Viswanadham as president, the former Minister, the late S. Alwar Das, and the noted advocate Kandala Srinivasa Rao as joint secretaries.

He also played key role in the establishment of the Visakha Public Library. He feels that any person should be allowed to walk in into the libraries and reading rooms and read the books without any restrictions whatsoever.

"The library system is very good in the United States. Every county has a library and the public can borrow books at any of the libraries and return them at any other library according to their convenience. The library concerned takes the responsibility of sending it to the lending library."

Similarly, retired professors visit bookshops and sit and read the books of their choice for hours together. They also buy a cup of coffee to help themselves during their long journey with the book.

The late professor LSRK Sastry had described Mr. Varahalu Chetty as "An exceptional book-seller, who had turned his trade into a marvellous art of human relations". One who enters the shop as a customer soon realises the bond of intimacy developing and remains a friend. He often appears more interested in your owning a good book than his collecting its cost. The trouble he takes to follow up a request for a book is surprising and it is as though securing the book is a means of personal fulfillment to him.

"Almost all the Vice Chancellors of Andhra University from Dr. V.S. Krishna to Dr. K.V. Ramana have been regular visitors to the Book Centre. Our teacher Prof. N. Srinivasan used to recommend us to go to Varahalu Chetty and he will give you the book," wrote Prof. A. Prasanna Kumar in an article published in a souvenir released during the Shastiabdapoorthy celebrations of Mr. Varahalu Chetty in August 1988.

The noted freedom fighter, the late Vavilala Gopalakrishnayya, had once described `Book Centre' as a `praja sevakula centre' meaning a centre for social service for the intellectuals of Visakhapatnam and those who had their education in Visakhapatnam.

Book Centre continues the tradition of free access to readers, which was started decades ago.

B. MADHU GOPAL

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