The gravity of Hyderabad is shifting westwards. And the newest addition to this urban shift is a large accessible public library in the Kondapur area. Bang on the main road above a jewellery showroom on the eighth floor is the Coforge Public Library that opened a few days ago. And people in Hyderabad are voting with their feet — it is drawing about 400 visitors on Saturday and 550 on Sunday.
Fluttering flags make the library easy to spot, and getting there is simple: an elevator ride to the eighth floor followed by a quick sign-in grants access. Inside, the quiet hum of air-conditioning blends with the soft chatter of children hunting for books. The shelves are spotless, the lighting warm and the seating inviting, all designed to make visitors linger with a good read. There’s no Wi-Fi and laptops/tablets aren’t allowed as a gentle nudge to disconnect and just read.
“The genesis of this library lies in the vision of Coforge CEO Sudheer Singh. He was able to access good libraries while growing up in different Army cantonments across India and then in the U.S. He felt that this gap in access to libraries needs to be filled,” says Anuradha Sehgal of Coforge.
The library currently has 15,000 books where dozens of readers can find space in the 15,000-odd sq.ft. area. “A library is a place of knowledge that can fire imagination. That is why we have a range of books with a special area for children,” says Ms.Sehgal.
