Since my school days in the Doon valley, I was always greatly fond of libraries. Besides my fondness for books, there were some other reasons too for my attraction to libraries.
I can never forget the first library I got acquainted with. It was the library at my school — Convent of Jesus and Mary —where the kind and gentle in-charge, Miss Deedkar, would warmly welcome the students who came in for the “library period”. The library period, which perhaps does not exist in schools any longer, was my favourite as it gave me the opportunity to find a quiet little corner to read magazines from all over the country and abroad.
Reader’s Digest collections were also available. I would find that the 45 minutes would pass too soon and was always reluctant to leave the library and its cosy atmosphere. Borrowing books for the week, I would eagerly await the next library period! Miss Deedkar was very gentle and quiet. Most librarians were like that as they got used to keeping and maintaining silence in their libraries. Generations of CJM-ites remember this gracious lady, who wore long cotton frocks with dull floral prints and a pair of smart brown sandals. She could have been anywhere between 50 and 70. It was difficult to make out.
The old public library in Mussoorie, near Picture Palace (it was still there when I went to the hill station last year) drew me to its old world charm. It had beautiful wooden shelves and floors. The view of the valley and hills from all its windows added to its beauty and during my summer vacations spent in Mussoorie, I would accompany my parents every noon to this comfortable library where they would go to glance through newspapers and journals. The bracing hill breeze would move quietly through the doors and windows and reading at this library was an extremely joyful experience. Videogames and satellite TV were unheard of and comic books and story books were popular ways of spending one’s holidays.
There is something about libraries which has never failed to charm me. Their silence has a purpose and is charged with intellectual purpose. Their comforting air arises from the lines of lovely books with which one’s memories and thoughts are associated and their peace enters one’s mind and gives a calmness which is required greatly in today’s world.
However, it is ironical that in an era when this calmness is most required, people are giving up on reading or visiting libraries. They visit places which increase their restlessness and crowd their minds with noise and confusion. And if people do not visit libraries, they are forced to close down. E-books can give us knowledge and information but the reading experience in a library can never be replaced by them. I can vouch for that.
At college, the library I found was a treasurehouse of books from all around the world and it won me over on my first visit. For the next three years, I spent most of my time there at a table from where the garden of that college block was visible. The notes that I made from those wonderful books helped me do extremely well in English literature, my subject in BA (Honours). But what those three years of spending long hours at the library taught me went beyond just scoring well in the exam. It taught me the value of reading and acquiring knowledge. It taught me how to understand silence and its effects on one’s heart and mind. I came to know myself in those years. I began to value solitude and peace. I learned the importance of introspection and deep study. It is amazing to think how much my days in the imposing library of my college made me the person I am today.
Anyone who was looking for me always thought first of checking at the library. I was labelled a bookworm by my friends in college. But I did not mind that at all. Such was and is my love for books that I could even take being called a worm in my stride and smile. There are still some libraries around. I think it is high time we understood and experienced their goodness. And may we have many more libraries in the future. For a world without such havens of tranquillity and knowledge would be a lot poorer.