Libraries exude a scholarly silence.
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Libraries have always occupied a special place in my life, as reading was my forte from a young age. In our village, we had a very small branch library with fewer books than the personal collection of an average avid reader, all stacked precariously on the damp floor without a single rack to hold them. The library used to function depending on the mood of an alcoholic librarian who used to stay near our home. A handful of students and job seekers were regulars for reading newspapers and magazines.I got hooked to pulp fiction and read most of the vernacular literature, as reading novels was taboo for students in those days. One day, the librarian threatened me with a warning to focus on studies; else, he would complain about my reading affair to my mother.I switched to Plan B and convinced my mother for a nominal subscription which allowed to take home weekly one book in her name. At home, I was to be doubly cautious lest my mom discover my reading, which she did one day and subjected me to severe punishment.Later during my intermediate days in the neighbouring town, I use to skip classes and spend time in tiny dark rooms and verandahs functioning as libraries. There I developed a nasty habit of tearing pages of serialised novels off weekly magazines, only to make a bound copy of them as personal collection. One day, the librarian laid a trap and caught my misdeed red-handed. He confiscated my wristwatch as security until I pay a penalty. Next day I paid 50 rupees and got back my watch. Later, at home, my mother was searching for a missing 50-rupee note for the next two days.After joining the Air Force, wherever I was posted to, I made good use of well maintained state-of-the-art libraries at our units. Whenever I reported to a new unit, I used to search for the nearest library and post office and usually had a good rapport with librarians and postmen. I use to spend most of my off-duty time in libraries. At times, whenever the exercise of disposing of old and damaged books used to take place, I was the one to acquire those old and smelly books with damaged spines and tinted pages with much awe as an invaluable possession for a throwaway price.During my tenure in Lucknow, my senior colleague and mentor, Prabhakar, a wonderful painter, and I would travel 25 kilometres one way on our days off to visit the Lalit Kala Akademi Library to explore unaffordable and expensive art books. We use to read those art books like there is no tomorrow, for seven or eight hours with a short break for a sumptuous lunch at Kaiserbagh.Libraries have had such a profound impact on me that following my premature retirement from the Services, I wanted to try my hand at entrepreneurship by buying into a branded lending library franchise.As a precursor, I even pursued a degree in library science, though it remained unfinished as life got in the way. Yet, to this day, I preserve that divine feeling towards libraries and the scholarly silence they so beautifully disseminate.murali13mallareddy@yahoo.co.in Published - August 09, 2026 12:52 am IST
