Although it is located near the main Howrah-Amta Road, near Chandni More, the Munsirhat Sadharan Pathagar wears the same desolate look as all other public libraries in Howrah. A single reading table and a number of bookshelves are spread around the floor. Readers trickle into the room in the evening, most of the time, a few minutes before closing time. The librarian, Sreemoti Nandy, sometimes has to oblige members who come to exchange books just before closing time. 

“In the afternoon, when the library opens, students come for reference books. There are two big schools here for girls and boys and students come from both the places. Local college students also visit the library for books,” said Nandy. Although the library does not have a dedicated text book section, the history and geography books prove to be of good use to students. “We have no other section, apart from the general section, at this library. There are no children’s, women’s or career guidance sections here,” said Nandy. 

The story behind the birth of Munsirhat Sadharan Pathagar is an interesting one. Towards the end of the 1940s, the village areas of Bengal were severely affected by malaria. It was an epidemic everywhere, claiming thousands of lives. At that time, an Anti-Malaria Society was formed near the Howrah-Amta Martin Light Railways station. Among those who were involved in the formation of the society were Jnanendranath Chattopadhyay, Nityananda Chakraborty and the station master of Munsirhat station, Bankim Mukherjee. The three friends were bookworms and would often exchange books while working at the society. Later, a study circle was formed among them in which other like-minded people joined. The idea of starting a library came from here. 

In 1948, Sankarhati Sadharan Pathagar was formed. At that time, the station area was under Sankarhati mouza. The library initially ran from the Anti-Malaria Society premises. Gradually, the work of Anti-Malaria Society reduced while the activities of the library flourished. More members, well-wishers and residents of the area joined in. To raise funds for the library, the members would organise musical soirees in 1960 and 1961 where well-known singers from Calcutta would perform. They also held lotteries and screened films. 

The funds were used to buy books and furniture for the library. The name of the library changed to Munsirhat Sadharan Pathagar in 1962. While this was a glorious period of the library, in 1972, the library had to close down for lack of people, funds and maintenance. The Martin Light Railways had also stopped running, and so the station area became a dark and desolate place. Till 1980, the library remained closed. After that, some interested people shifted the library near the Sankarhati Hospital and started it from a room there. In the same year, Munsirhat Sadharan Pathagar became a government sponsored library. In 1986, the library moved to its present location, after Maniklal Ghosh donated land for the library’s building. 

With such a chequered history, Munsirhat Sadharan Pathagar is, at present struggling to survive. Without a children’s section or a career guidance section, it is difficult for a rural library to exist. “We have not really taken any initiative to start a career guidance section here. Students here go to tutorials and get the books that they need, so they do not need to come to the library. The few who like to study are the ones who visit the library looking for information,” said Nandy. 

The librarian is the only staff here with no assistant to help out. “If I need to go to the District Library or for any official work in the morning, there is no one to open the library in the afternoon. By the time I come its late and members, mainly students, might have left finding the library closed,” said Nandy. 

The annual grant of Rs 19,500 from the state government’s Department of Library Services is all that the library receives. “We have applied for a grant from the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF) for a submersible pump, books and furniture. We are waiting for a response,” said Nandy. 

The library building was extended with another floor. The money came from a donation by a local resident in 2011. “The floor has some old cupboards with some old punthis written in Bengali on palm leaves. For dearth of funds, we are not being able to preserve these properly,” said Nandy.

 

FACTFILE

Name:Munsirhat Sadharan Pathagar

Estd: 1948

Address: Village and PO - Munsirhat, PS - Jagatballavpur

No. of members: 173

Membership fees: Rs 5 per month for all members