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(ARCHIVE) Vol. XXI No. 15, November 16-30, 2011
Please, can the Library stay where it now is?
(By the Editor)

The politics of one regime’s meat being the other’s poison continues unabated in our State. The latest to face the heat is the Anna Centenary Library in Kotturpuram, one of the pet projects of the previous government. It has been announced that this will be converted into a super-speciality hospital for children. At this rate, what is likely to be the fate of other projects of the previous government, like the poongas?






Signs of the changing times! – A name change for Kalaignar Maaligai... – What awaits the poongas?

Meanwhile, the State Government would do well to reconsider its decision, after taking into account not only the logistics and cost involved in such an action as well as the fact that a purpose-built building cannot easily be converted for a totally different purpose, but also the sentiments of litterateurs, scholars and book-lovers not only from within Tamil Nadu but all across the world. It might also take into consideration the fact that it’s in the heart of the city’s major educational hub and, being there, will serve better IIT-Madras, Anna University’s colleges, the CLRI and various research institutes, polytechnics and schools.

The Library, built at a cost of Rs. 172 crore, was declared open last year. It houses five lakh books, with as many due to be added and is at present attracting around 1500 visitors every day. Modelled on the National Library of Singapore, it has received praise from all quarters and is considered a worthy addition to a city that has prided itself on being a knowledge capital.

The idea of a second hospital in the city (after the Institute of Child Health) for children is most welcome. But can it not be at a green-field location? Why does it have to be in place of the library? Let’s face it. Transforming into a hospital a building custom-made to house a library will be no easy task. It is going to involve huge expenditure in a complete transformation of the interiors. Newspaper estimates put the figure at Rs. 100 crore, which is more than 50 per cent of the cost incurred in putting up the library. And even then the final results are not going to be as satisfactory as a freshly planned and executed hospital would be. The only saving would be in the cost of construction of the shell, for that is all that would remain if the Library is to be stripped and remodelled into a hospital.

The location is also worthy of reconsideration. The library is ideally situated, in the middle of an educational precinct. Would a hospital with all its adjuncts not vitiate this atmosphere of education?

The Government has also announced that it proposes to build another Anna Library, to house the present collection, at the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) campus. This will affect several heritage structures. The main building, the Madras Literary Society, a building that dates to the era of the College of Fort St. George, and the two arched gateways (one on College Road and the other, more magnificent one, rarely noticed, but facing the Cooum) are just a few. The main building is undergoing restoration while the MLS has just been renovated. Are these structures now capable of bearing the stress of modern high-rise construction in their neighbourhood? Or, worse, will they be pulled down, as word on the street has it?

In addition, the campus is a green lung, with several old trees. The previous Government in constructing the now-abandoned New Assembly-cum-Secretariat Complex on Mount Road had razed several heritage structures and denuded the area of its tree cover. Does the present regime want to be remembered for a similar record?

The decision to abandon the Assembly on Mount Road met with mixed reactions. Not everyone was impressed with its architecture. And the idea of power being centred at Fort St. George appealed to those with a sense of history. On the other hand, the plan to relocate the Anna Library for no valid reason is already seeing a groundswell of public opinion against the move. The State Government hopefully should read the direction of the wind and let the library stay where it is. Certainly Anna the Scholar would not want a library to be made a non-library, especially by a Government headed by a party bearing his name.


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In this issue

Please, can the Library stay where it now is?
The drama of sealing illegal constructions
When Hyundai won the race
'The premier hotel in South India'
Lil Madras Girl has a ball at the Anna Library
Saying 'Hi' to Pallikaranai's birds
A roach by another name
An ancient temple in an industrial suburb
A writer ahead of his time

Our Regulars

Short 'N' Snappy
a-Musing
Our Readers Write
Quizzin' with Ram'nan
Dates for your diary

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