Temple of Knowledge continues to flourish

KADAPA: From time immemorial a library is considered as storehouse of information.

Name a topic and a reference to it will be available at these temples of knowledge.

There are some libraries, which stand as a memorial to great deeds of some great people and one such library is CP Brown Library in Kadapa. Brown's contribution to Telugu literature is immense and he was responsible for not only bringing out Telugu Dictionary but was also responsible for conserving Yogi Vemana literary works and several precious manuscripts of Telugu literature.

But, the man behind CP Brown Library, now considered as an important land mark in Kadapa is Janumadhi Hanumathsastry, a noted scholar and academician.

It was his relentless struggle that saw the emergence of CP Brown Memorial Trust, which is behind the development of CP Brown Library. In 1976, noted literary personality Arudra identified the place in Kadapa, where CP Brown used to live and work. A suggestion was made to the then collector of Kadapa P L Sanjeeva Reddy for setting up a library in memory of CP Brown, but only after a decade, that is in 1986, the first foundation for the library was made. CP Brown Memorial Trust with C R Sampath Kumar as its president and Janumandhi Hanumathsastry as secretary was formed. District Collector was its chief patron.

CP Brown had sold the estate in Kadapa, when he left the country and returned to London. Later it came into possession of C R Krishna Swamy, father of C R Sampath Kumar. Sampath Kumar donated 20 cents of the 15 acre land to the trust for setting up the library.

The then collector J Hari Narayana sanctioned Rs 3.5 lakh for the construction of the library, while leading lawyer and president of Kadapa Town Development Association G Krishnamurth y donated Rs 43,000. Chandana Khan, A K Farad and other bureaucrats, who worked in Kadapa also donated for the cause. School students in Kadapa and Proddatur had donated Rs 25,000.

But it was the contribution of Rs 10 by a casual labourer in Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh, which stands out. Inspired by an article written in �Andhra Prabha� weekly by Janumadhi, he had made the donation. On January 2, 1987, foundation stone for CP Brown Library was laid and the construction was completed in 1995. Prominent freedom fighter Vavilala Gopalakrishnaiah in presence of the then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the library.

Several scholars and academicians in the country had donated valuable books to the library. Collections in the library include works of G Krishna Murthy, Aurobindo, books on Buddhism, Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Not only of literature, but books on engineering and medicines have also found place in the shelves of CP Brown library.

It has 32 rarest books, which were microfilmed by American Library Congress. They are not available elsewhere in the world.

The three volumes of original manuscripts of CP Brown Telugu dictionary, 60 books on Vemana literature, orginal handwritten manuscripts of Puttaparthi Narayanacharyulu, Janamanchi Sheshadri Sharma, Diwakarla Venkatavadhani and others are also among the collections of the library.

On Sunday, the library has 32,000 books, one of the best collection in the State. In 2005, CP Brown Library was handed over to the State Government and Sri Venkateswara University and later Yogi Vemana University were entrusted with the task of maintaining it continues to flourish CP Brown Library in Kadapa Janumadhi Hanumathsastry.

Courtesy: NewIndPress