The Khudabaksh Library
(from Amitava Kumar’s Bombay-London-New York)In my hometown, Patna, there is a general consensus that culture, like the surrounding economy, lies in ruins. And yet a visit to the Khudabaksh Library reveals another world, distant from the cramped, dusty streets outside filled with rickshaws and cars with loud, blasting horns. A librarian, his right hand shaky, pulls out a book on medicine that was written two thousand years ago. The book is titled Kitab-ul-Hashaish. The edition the librarian holds in his hands is from the thirteenth century A.D. The book was translated from Greek to Arabic by the order of Haroun-ul-Rashid; it carries beautiful illustrations painted with herbal and mineral colours that still appear clean and bright. The librarian is old; his spectacles sit crookedly over his bulging eyes. He wants to show you ancient paintings of war scenes where, he says, “No two faces are alike.” He keeps using the phrase “hidden treasures.” There are 22000 handwritten books in his library; about five thousand to seven thousand of them are rare manuscripts.
While Amitava reads from his book in New York, I have been rereading it here in Bombay.
Here is a poem by Nikki Giovanni about librarians, “My First Memory (Of Librarians)”:
This is my first memory:
A big room with heavy wooden tables that sat on a creaky
wood floor
A line of green shades—bankers’ lights—down the center
Heavy oak chairs that were too low or maybe I was simply
too short
For me to sit in and read
So my first book was always big
The whole thing here.
Here is an interesting article about the Khudabaksh Library.
Janab Mohtaram
Adab
Main library ke bare main khas to par ‘Sales Deptt’ ke bare main jan na chhata huan. Barai meharbani ittila karain.
Apka
S.I.Dastagir
Comment by SYED IMTIAZ DASTAGIR — July 2, 2007 @ 12:10 pm
Let me inform about the purchasing procedure of books.
Comment by SYED IMTIAZ DASTAGIR — July 5, 2007 @ 4:13 pm
dear sir, i am an student of BCA and working on a library project . for that i want to know the steps and whole processes in breif by which a librarian maintain a library.such as
I.Membership
1.How can we be a member of this library?
2.what are the terms and conditions for be a member?
3. categories of members.??etcs.
II. PROCESS OF BOOK WITHDRAW
III. PROCESS OF BOOK ENTRY
IV. AUDITATION REPORT ETCS.
I’ll be very thankful & greateful to you for helping me on this project.
THANKS
Comment by smriti mishra — November 23, 2007 @ 1:14 pm