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In good company

This summer, hop into your neighbourhood library and pick your favourites

PHOTO: T. SINGARAVELOU

WORDPOWER At one of the libraries in Puducherry

It’s that time of the year again when time ticks too slowly, the day never seems to end and you are tired of watching TV or staring at your computer screen. You scan the room with lazy, bored eyes, and the book rack standing in the corner seems a welcome change.

And so, this summer, as in the past, well-thumbed books seemed to be a great way to kill time without getting sun burnt. If you don’t have racks of books at home and want something new, the best place to start would be the neighbourhood library. Comics for children, detective novels for teenagers, magazines for homemakers and office goers, or spiritual books for the elders, libraries in and around Puducherry have it all.

The Government-run Roman Rolland library, at Roman Rolland Street, is one of the oldest public libraries in the country and has over 60,000 books in all languages. You could also spot rare French books here.

There are also a few private lending libraries in Puducherry. One such library, started more than 22 years ago, is the Wisdom Lending Library at 92, Chinna Subburaya Pillai Street. Novels and magazines, in both English and Tamil are available here. They charge 10 to 20 per cent of the price of the magazines (for two days) and 60 to 70 per cent for novels (for a week).

“Most of our 700 members borrow magazines. During summer holidays, the demand for comics among children is high,” says Palani, owner of the library. The membership fee here is Rs. 200, which is refundable.

For those in Lawspet area, the Ponni Lending Library at 148, Bharathiyar Street, Ashok Nagar, which was started in 1994 and has 300 members, is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. “Earlier, a lot of people used to borrow books. Today the young seem glued to the TV or the internet. Many home-makers borrow books from us, especially weekly magazines,” says Muthukumaraswamy, who runs the library.

The Bharathi Lending Library on Airport Road is known for its wide collection of English novels. “I’ve been a member of this library for the past two years. There is a good collection of novels here,” says Preethi, a teenager and a Sidney Sheldon and Jeffrey Archer fan.

Most of these libraries buy books by placing orders with publishers or from second hand book dealers. The Jumbo Book Traders at M.G Road (opposite Petit Seminaire School) is one such famous shop, which sells all kinds of magazines, novels in Tamil, English, French and Hindi to libraries at reduced prices.

For those of you who would like to have a collection of books at your house, this is the ideal place to buy from. “Every Sunday, there is a special sale where novels, magazines and academic books are sold at a discount of 50 per cent. During summer vacations, the demand for novels of authors such as Jeffrey Archer, Agatha Christie and Irving Wallace is high,” says Tamizharasan, who owns the shop.

So, what are you waiting for? Walk in to your nearest library and choose your pick.

R. ASHWINI

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