Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

A monumental library

Sri Ram Mohan Library in the city has a legendary past. Andavilli Satyanarayana recounts the glorious era

Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao

Sri Ram Mohan Library was established by a few public-spirited men of high public standing in 1911. Suri Venkata Narasimha Sastry and Ayyanki Venkata Ramayya were the first president and secretary of the library. What is not known to many is the fact that it was named after one of the great social reformers of the country, Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Inspired by the speeches of Mahatma Gandhi, a few freedom fighters took the lead and set up this library.

It rose from strength to strength and became a centre of cultural, social and literary activities besides being a full-fledged library and reading room. A leading legal luminary and a front ranking freedom-fighter , Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao, provides an authentic record of this great institution's background and the people who were behind it in the initial stages, in his autobiography Naa Jeevitha katha.

Suri Venkata Narasimha Sastry

Public donations

It was started in a rented house and was registered in May 1913. When the Bezawada Municipality put up for auction a site measuring 2,191 sq. yards in Governorpet area, it was purchased by the Library Committee for Rs.3,324, paying one-third of the amount on the spot. The balance was secured on loan through a promissory note executed by Kaleswara Rao for Rs. 600 in favour of a leading advocate, Bodapati Venkatappaiah and from donation from the public. Interestingly, Kaleswara Rao withdrew his candidature for Municipal Council in favour of Venkatappaiah on condition that he should donate the loan amount to the library and facilitated his election unopposed! For registration and other purposes, he raised a loan of Rs.2,500 from his client. That was how the land became the property of the library.

Auditorium

The same year, the zamindar of Tiruvur promised to get a building constructed for it and the foundation stone was laid by Sir P.S.Siva Swami Iyer, advisor to the Madras Governor and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Madras. Kowtha Suryanarayana Rao donated Rs.7,000 for the first floor, providing an auditorium for around 300 persons.

Ayyanki Venkata Ramayya.

It was completed in 1919. I recall with pride that as a college student here in late forties, I became a member of the library paying a monthly subscription of eight annas (half a rupee) I still remember the hours I spent there in the evenings and on holidays reading newspapers and magazines and borrowing rare books.

It was in this auditorium I attended the violin concert of Dwaaram Venkata Swami Naidu, whose fingers were kissed in admiration by one of the world's greatest violinists, Yehudi Mennhin, when he came to Madras. I heard Rajaji speaking here in his inimitable and hard-hitting style.

As days passed by, it became difficult for the committee to maintain the library let alone adding new books to it due to paucity of funds.

A clipping of the observation written by V.V. Giri (former President) in the visitor's book of the library on May 1, 1932

Many valuable books have been eaten away by moths and the building was on the verge of collapse with beggars seeking shelter there.

But a fewwell meaning individuals endowed with a spirit of service took upon themselves the responsibility of reviving the past glory of the library.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail