A hundred years on — commence centenary celebrations on Sunday (Sept 28) — the Muslim Library in Shivajinagar still stands tall and proud, a testimony to the steely determination and goodwill of its founding group. The library now houses about 25,000 rare books and manuscripts and holds a record of sorts: It is the only public library of its kind that has survived without any government grants, NGO money or foreign funds.

Located at Number 8, Veerapillai Street near Jumma Masjid Road Cross, Shivajinagar, the Muslim Library continues to retain and promote the old charm of calm and quiet library-reading in the age of Kindles and iBooks. Though the library is largely patronised by senior citizens, one can find young academicians and researchers pouring over tomes in the library every day.

“Apart from translations of Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Bible in Urdu, the library has around 2,000 books in Persian and an equal number in Arabic,” said Ayub Ahmed Khan, president of The Muslim Library Trust. What differentiates this library from others though is its funding mechanism: It has been self-financed since its inception.

The library was launched on May 5, 1912 by a group of Muslim intellectuals including Mahmood Khan Mahmood (author of Saltanat-e-Khudadad — an authoritative history on Tipu Sultan in Urdu), printing press owner Mir Abdul Haq, headmaster Abdul Rauf, teacher Farheed Khan, advocate Mohammed Saleh Ansari and Mohammed Abdul Abdul Aziz. “These people were inspired by the freedom movement,” says Khan. “They contributed from their own pockets and vowed not to source funds from outside. That custom continues till date,” he said.

Although launched in 1912, it began full-fledged operations only a couple of years later (that’s why the centenary celebrations this year) from a rented room with a collection of 867 books. Abu Mohammed Abdul Wahed, the septuagenarian secretary of the library, says, “By 1929, the library had 29 members and 12,000 books. We now have 600 members not just from Bangalore, but even from Kolar, Mulbagal and Doddabalapur. The present members of the library are well-known personalities including IAS, IPS officers, doctors and lawyers all of whom are proud to be associated with the library. All our members donate books and the collection has now swelled to 32,000.”

Inflation appears to have given the membership fee a miss — it was Rs 10 in 1928 and is now a very affordable Rs 200. The visitors’ book has the names of several dignitaries including poet Mohammed Iqbal who penned ‘Sare Jahan Se Achcha’, author Syed Sulaiman Nadvi, poets Josh Malihabadi, Jigar Moradanadi and Seemab Akbarabadi. Moulvi Abdul Haq, the editor of the Urdu journal ‘Shair’, also visited the library in 1937.

The library got its own three-storey building in 1970 in Shivajinagar. The building was constructed by L Mohammed Yisuf, the architect of 66 buildings of various Muslim organisations in the city. Mohammed Altaf Hussain, who has been librarian for the past 15 years, said, “A lot of school children visit during the summer vacation. There are 30 to 40 regular visitors every day. The library is open between 10 and 12 in the morning and 4 and 8 in the evening.”

Hussain reveals that great care is taken to maintain the books. “Besides daily sweeping etc, the library is comprehensively cleaned and pest-controlled every month. I don’t keep old books lying around. They are taken out of cupboards only if members specifically ask for them. We have regular visitors who come here to read magazines and newspapers, but most visitors are keen to read novels which are treasured in our library.”

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / by Bharat A. Patel , Bangalore Mirror Bureau / September 28th, 2014