SRINIVAS REDDY  I hyderabad

The 133-year-old State Central Library, one of the oldest libraries of Hyderabad city, popularly known as the Asafia library made a debut at the 37th Hyderabad Book Fair and was received well by the book lovers of the city. Over the 10 days of the fair, close to 50,000 people visited the stall, according to Assistant Librarian Y Kesari Hanuman.

The younger generation does not know about the rich history of the library and by setting up the stall, the youth have got enthused said an official.

Rare books

The library houses rare books including an original copy of Constitution of India which was brought from New Delhi four years ago. Other attractions include brief History of Ancient and Modern India, wall paintings from ancient shrines in Central Asia, The paintings in the Buddhist Cave temple Ajanta and Scripture prints in 1846.  

PGV Rani, Chief Librarian, State Central Library, said “We have a collection of more than 5.5 lakh books, magazines, some rare Palm-leaf manuscripts, newspapers and other periodicals. Restoration work has already started last year and it will take a year to complete.”    

 Funds sanctioned

Last year, HMDA sanctioned Rs 13 crore funds for the restoration work of the library.  Speaking to Metro India, Dr Riyaz, Chairman of the Telangana State Library Council, said "We have asked Rs 7 crore for the restoration work of the library, the The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has sanctioned Rs 7 crore, but the funds are being released step by step to take up the work. 

13 lakh visit 37th Hyderabad Book Fair

The 37th Hyderabad Book Fair concluded on Sunday at Kaloji KalaKshetram (NTR Stadium).  13 lakh people visited the book fair which started on December 19, 2024 with 350 stalls. This year’s book fair attracted a huge crowd from book and literature lovers of all age groups.

Hyderabad Book Fair Committee members said that around Rs 15 crore worth books were sold in the 10-day book fair. 

Total 350 stalls includes 170 Telugu books stalls, 135 English book stalls and remaining 45 stalls included stationary, commercial and other stalls. Around 50 stalls were set up by the writers on their own and the remaining 300 stalls were installed by the Publishers.    

In this book fair, books of all the genres like fiction, non-fiction, spirituality, comics, academic books, self-help, novels, serious literature books and healing books are available. Apart from that for children, reusable work books, drawing books and various puzzles, board games and Panchatantra story books, Chota bheem story books. 

Publishing houses including Telugu Sahitya Academy, Kendra Sahitya Academy, Navachethana, Nava Telangana, Navodaya, Emesco, Telugu Books, Sage, Penguin, PalaPitta, Jagruthi, Navayuga, Vikshanam, and ArunaTara set up stalls.

  Speaking to Metro India, Hyderabad Book Fair President Dr Yakoob said, “This time book fair crowd is the best example for the new generation returning to books reading habit. We have issued free passes and tickets, with that we can estimate that nearly 13 lakh people have visited the book fair this time and it’s a huge hit this time compared to last 36 years' fairs." 

 Now, state government injected this project under Musi River Front Development Corporation and Afzal Gunj came under this and we got the status of Heritage Building. When I took charge of this department, I wrote a letter to the HMDA to sanction the fund for the restoration work."      

 “Already terrace, washrooms and other works are near to completion and some more restoration work are pending and expected to take another year to complete. Restoration work is being taken up without affecting the historical look of the building,” she said.  

Digitalization of books

55,000 books have been scanned and digitized and readers can avail the scanned copies by paying 50 paisa per copy. The life membership just Rs 150. The library has 37,000 membership readers and close to 1000 readers visit library including students.

Books are avaialable in 10 Indian languages including Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu and Persian, Arabian, Kannada, Sanskrit and Marathi languages. Apart from that many Telugu language films were also shot in this historical library.

History of this oldest library

This library was established in 1891, it is one of the most imposing structures in the city and was granted heritage status in 1998 by INTACH, Hyderabad. It was named as Asafia State Library in the honour of Asaf Jah dynasty but later renamed as State Central Library.

The library is located in the Afzal Gunj neighbourhood of the city on the bank of the River Musi. The State Central Library began in 1891 due to the efforts of Syed Hussain Bilgrami, whose personal library formed the institution's initial core.

The library building is spread over 72,247 square yards and was built under the supervision of the architect, Aziz Ali. The foundation was laid in January 1932 by Prince Mir Osman Ali Khan. At the construction's completion, the Asafia Library shifted to the new building in 1936 to mark Nizam VII's Silver jubilee.

In 1941, the Asafia State Library celebrated its Golden Jubilee. When the Hyderabad Public Libraries Act became law in 1955, Asafia State Library was declared as the State Central library for the Hyderabad State.