Can you believe that there is a 202 year old library right in the heart of Nungambakkam? And what’s more, it has a collection of over 150,000 books? And that it is located in a heritage buildings that has been (surprise! surprise!) been restored and not demolished a few years back? And that pioneering printing works in all Dravidian languages were initiated in this sprawling premises? And that there is a building here that…
But hang on. If I tell you all that today itself, there is no way you will drag yourself out of bed on January 17 and come all the way to the campus. Yes, on that day, at 8.00 am, we have a walk led by me, starting from the gate of the Directorate of Public Instruction on College Road. You can park your car on Moores Road or Anderson Road and walk from there. The walk, being held as part of The Hindu’s Lit for Life 2015, will be for 90 minutes, ending inside the Madras Literary Society campus. This link to google maps will give you the location:
You need to register with The Hindu to be a part of this walk, as entry is restricted to the first 50 people. The walk is free. Please register by SMS to 53030 in this format- LFLHWName, Age
The usual regulations apply – No toilets in vicinity. Please wear caps, goggles, sun block cream etc if you are sensitive to the sun. Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes meant for walking. Bring your own water.
A detailed write up giving the background to this walk is in this article by Esther Elias in The Hindu
The Madras Literary Society is a historian’s delight. As with the building’s restoration, I hope something has been done about preserving the invaluable collection of books there. I used to visit the society when I was working in the city during the 1980’s and 1990’s and was always worried about the state of the collection. Newspaper articles of those years did little to improve matters. I hope the walk being planned will kindle some action in this regard.Regards,Mukundan S. Chettiyappa, Tiruppur. From: Madras Heritage and Carnatic Music To: mukundanschettiyappa@yahoo.co.in Sent: Sunday, 11 January 2015 2:56 PM Subject: [New post] A walk for the Madras Literary Society #LFL2015 #yiv2570766519 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv2570766519 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv2570766519 a.yiv2570766519primaryactionlink:link, #yiv2570766519 a.yiv2570766519primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv2570766519 a.yiv2570766519primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv2570766519 a.yiv2570766519primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv2570766519 WordPress.com | sriramv posted: “Can you believe that there is a 202 year old library right in the heart of Nungambakkam? And what’s more, it has a collection of over 150,000 books? And that it is located in a heritage buildings that has been (surprise! surprise!) been restored and n” | |