Nehru Centre Library is the new hotspot for city readers

The instant thought that rushed through our minds as we stepped into the glistening 10000 square feet of a library was ShantiNiketan No this isnrsquot Kolkata one is referring to but the recently refurbished Nehru Centre Library that shifted to the Discovery of India building on the occasion of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrursquos124th birth anniversaryThe writer reads a book at the renovated library while on the wall behind an expansive map traces all iconic spots in the city PicRane AshishFacsimile of a magnolia tree stands tall in the elongated space while red poinsettias extend a vibrant touch The bamboolined walls rejuvenate the reclusive reader breaking the sleepy monotony most libraries exude We glee at the harmonious balance that the library offers irrespective of the extended line of computer systems on our leftQuizzing the head librarian Aarti Desai we find out ldquoLibraries in India do not have a very welcome look They are mostly equipped with rows of benches and have dark and dingy reading rooms But here a reader feels that he she is reading in a garden The huge glass windows invite one to walk in and explore the wealth of information that we haverdquo Though the library currently stocks 30000 books Desai is charged with the mammoth task of adding 70000 more in the coming two decadesThe sheer thought of one lakh books amidst Mumbairsquos readersrsquo flutters the heart and all that is available free of cost The resource centre now boasts of the Online Public Access Catalogue All this has led to a welcome change as Desai informs us ldquoThe number of visitors to the library has increased by almost five times Footfalls are definitely more in the new locationa positive signrdquo Sharing her joy on how the library envisions to play a focal role for Mumbairsquos readers by organising author meets discussions and more she excites us Plans are afloat to reach out to the far and wide ldquoWersquove just started our own blog through which we will keep people posted about new additions in our library You can also visit it from our webpage on the Nehru Centre websiterdquo reveals DesaiAs we flip through The Emperor of Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee Desai cuts the reverie by stressing ldquoThe library boasts of a wide range of general and subject encyclopedias special Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi collections and one of the best biography collections in the city We also pride ourselves in the fact that we have the single print copies of the National Geographic magazine dating back to January 1947 Since we are not a membership driven library we do not have a huge fiction section but we do have most Indian fiction authors Plans are on the anvil to build a section on South Asian countries specially our neighbouring countriesrdquo As if this wasnrsquot astounding enough we are told that 150000 articles are all set to be digitised and be available as links to the readers The dream of a buzzing library is imminent Mumbaiites go grab a book in the marvellous wonderland we urgeOn Monday to Friday 1st 3rd and 5th Saturdays 10 am to 6 pm 2nd and 4th Saturdays 10 am to 2 pmat Dr Annie Besant Road WorliCall 24983921