Friday, 02 October 2020 | PNS | Dehradun
Dehradun’s iconic Mahatma Khushi Ram Public Library will step into its centenary in January 2021. It has recently been refurbished, and is open to the public from 8 AM to 12 PM and then from 4 PM to 8 PM. Located on Gandhi Road right across the street from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Park, the library today wears a modern look.
It subscribes to nearly all the daily newspapers, magazines and journals both in Hindi and English. Between 80 to 100 reading members visit the library every day. It has a valuable collection of over 45,000 books on a wide range of subjects such as religion and mythology; these include from the yore the Upnishads, Vedas and Puranas. Also adorning the shelves of this heritage library are The Story of Civilization (11 volumes) and The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant, the celebrated American writer. The library also boasts of encyclopedias besides authoritative books on forestry, environment, science, philosophy, commerce, fine arts, management, computers and career counselling among others. Other than the reading room, the library has a multi-purpose authors’ lounge that can also be used for small classrooms or even board meetings. Its spacious community hall can accommodate 100 attendees. The library also has modern toilets and washrooms separately for ladies and gentlemen.
Its future plans include expanding the library facilities with proper computerised indexing and cataloguing, latest sound system, modern furnishing and air coolers. A Children’s Corner and Khushiyon Ka Angan for women are also being envisaged to be introduced during the Centenary year. A special provision for senior citizens is also being contemplated including the provision for a lift. It also aims to provide easy access to research scholars.
In an open invitation, president of the board of trustees, Vijay Bansal has appealed to the citizens of Dehradun to contribute whatever they can to make this library a great institution. He also mentioned that the library is registered under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act that enables the donor to claim deductions.
