The Libraries of Calcutta A Gateway to the City’s Intellect

Sandip Banerjee

The act of reading books is a habit that goes back a long time in history. Since a very long time, it has been a tendency of many to store books and to create a reading corner for them where they could have a selection of books on various subjects and discipline. In course of time when publication of books got into practice and production of published books increased there was a huge increase in the number of readers. As a result, places for public reading were necessary. This requirement magnified with academic demands and progress of formal learning through education institutions from school to university and onwards.

A library was always needed for so many purposes. It was not just a place for reading books; it was the very place for inculcation of knowledge. A library where books from several countries, authored by people of various nations and culture are found, in itself was a melting pot of communities and tradition. Primarily wealthy individuals with appetite for learning used to have personal libraries. But it was restricted to a particular group; the common folk could not find access to them. Soon the necessity for public libraries was felt and in India we find two names almost competing with each other as being the first library beyond the domain of individual or localised periphery. ‘Kerala State Central Library’ established in 1829 in erstwhile princely state of Travancore is considered by many as India’s first public library; however, there is another set of researchers that consider the ‘Calcutta Public Library’ established in 1836 as the first-of-its-kind in India. It needs to be mentioned here that the concept of development of public libraries in India dates back to 1808 in the erstwhile Presidency of Bombay.

When the British East India Company gradually spread its tentacles to all corners of India, it made Bengal the epicenter of its colonial control. Calcutta emerged as the capital of British India, only to become, in course of time, the ‘Second City of the Empire’. The introduction of English education to India through Macaulay’s Charter in 1835 found Calcutta as the city to respond most promisingly. As there was a steady growth of reading class, the provision for libraries was all the more felt. With establishment of schools and colleges, number of students amplified. This led to more readers of books and newspapers and other forms of periodicals and bulletins. The beauty of Calcutta is that when we walk at leisure through any nook and corner of the place we would always find at least one library standing amidst shops, market and other forms of establishment. Intellectually, Bengalis might have taken a back seat; perhaps we cannot boast any more to say ‘What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow’; even then Calcutta can certainly brag of having one of the largest number of libraries in the country with a considerable volume of readers and members.

The pre-history of Calcutta’s libraries goes back to 1698 with The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge which is said to have had a library of its own. With the foundation of the Calcutta Madrassa by Warren Hastings in 1781, a sizeable number of Arabic and Persian manuscripts were collected and deposited here and in allied institutions. The Asiatic Society always had a library, initially in Grand Jury Room of the Supreme Court and then since 1804 in its own premises at 1, Park Street. The collection of books of Fort William College was later transferred to the library of The Asiatic Society. A part of Tipu Sultan’s personal collection was also donated to the society taking the strength of its collection to more than 90,000 books.

As time marched towards the middle of the nineteenth century more and more academic institutions kept on cropping into the scene. Many of these institutions had their own libraries, largely to cater to the needs of their students and teachers. The Hindu College, later to be renamed as Presidency College, The Sanskrit College, The General Assembly’s Institution (today known as Scottish Church College), St. Xavier’s College and the Loreto College – all had libraries of their own. Older than any of these is the Carey Library at Serampore College, a little town in the suburbs of Calcutta. The School Book Society (1817) provided a big impetus to the founding of public libraries in Calcutta. The Young Bengal group was great enthusiasts of both acquiring and propagating knowledge. Individuals like Ramgopal Ghosh and Ramtanu Lahiri were supervisors of the circulating library run by the Young Bengal group. One member of this group, Peary Chand Mitra was the first Assistant Librarian of the Calcutta Public Library.

The rise of nationalist feeling and craving for national identity was a strong impulse that led to the origin of many associations and societies during mid-nineteenth and late-nineteenth century Bengal. Naturally, Calcutta was the focal point for all such activities. This kind of national spirit gave birth to Taltala Public Library (1882) with Surendranath Banerjee being its first President. Administrative decisions like the Ilbert Bill in 1883 made people more curious about reading newspapers as they were eager to know about what was happening around them. This led to the foundation of the Bagbazar Reading Library (1883) later to be merged with Jorasanko Library (1904). In 1889, Chaitanya Library was set up under the inspiration of luminaries like Dr. Mahendralal Sarkar, Sir Gurudas Bnaerjee, Rashbehari Ghosh and even Rabindranath Tagore. Many of Tagore’s speeches and writings were first read out here. As we entered into the twentieth century, there occurred a broader extension of geographical territory with the libraries of Calcutta sweeping from one corner of the city to the other. The Hemchandra Library was set up at Khidirpur in 1907.

When we talk about the libraries of Calcutta some need special mention. To begin with it will be none other than the National Library which had its earliest beginning at the Metcalfe Hall. In 1836, it was renamed as the Calcutta Public Library which was later rechristened as the Imperial Library in 1903. Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee was appointed as President of Imperial Library Council in 1910 to which he donated his personal collection of 80,000 books kept in a separate section. Eventually, this library was renamed as the National Library in 1953. After independence the library was shifted to the Belvedere Estate in Alipore, the place that once housed the Governor –General of Bengal and India and later the Lt. Governors of Bengal. With almost three million books in its treasure trove, it is the largest library in India. Before coming to Belvedere Estate this library was premised at Esplanade. Apart from its huge collection of books, the library also contains more than 80,000 maps and more than 3,000 manuscripts.

The library of the Calcutta University is also has an enriched collection of books and is perhaps second largest in number after the National Library. The library of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture is also noted for its collection of rare books. Founded in 1941 the library has keep on steadily expanding ever since under the guidance of a group of experts led by none else than B.S. Kesavan – the first librarian of the National Library. The library maintains different wings like General Library and Children Library. The library houses around 2,40,000 books out of which around 8,000 books are labeled as rare. Online access is provided to an Open Library of free e-books. Access is also provided to digitised version of near about 4,000 specimens of rare books.

While Calcutta has seen so many libraries being established and sustained over the years both before and after Independence, there are some libraries in the close suburbs of the city which demands respectful attention. Out of these, the name worth mentioning first is that of Jaikrishna Public Library in Uttarpara, located in Hooghly District. This is Asia’s first free library which was formally opened to the people in 1859. Founded by Jaikrishna Mukherjee, the library had the footfall of all leading personalities from the likes of Michael Madhusudhan Datta, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar and Aurobindo Ghosh. In fact, Aurobindo Ghosh delivered his famous Uttarpara Lecture in 1909 in the lawns of this library. The library is a home to rare Sanskrit manuscripts along with the diversified collection of books. The Shibpur Public Library (1878) and the Bally Public Library (1883) are still standing tall, defying the onslaughts of time.

Despite the aggression of digital media, libraries are still an intrinsic part of Calcutta’s cultural ethos. There is no doubt that readers who like reading physical copies of books, particularly amongst the youth, have become less dense, but still a substantial number still persists. Moreover digitised versions of many books are available in the websites of many libraries. Calcutta and its cultural history is incomplete without the annals of its libraries. The library is a growing organism and like any other organism it too sustains with modification and adaptation with time. As this city continues to strides forward, it will carry its libraries as glorious memoirs and prospective souvenirs.