Palli Bharati Library at Mugkalyan. Pictures by Gopal Senapati

The wave of socio-cultural and religious reform movement during Bengal Renaissance that was started in 1775 by Raja Ram Mohun Roy and continued till the death of Rabindranath Tagore in 1941 had its impact on the villages of Bengal too. The village youths associated with the Bengal Renaissance in Calcutta decided to spread the reform movement in their villages by opening schools and libraries as they strongly believed that socio-cultural reform could only be ushered in by spreading education.

Palli Bharati library in Howrah’s Mugkalyan was established by DN Mallick, then a renowned teacher of Presidency College, Priyanath Ghosal, the munsef of Calcutta High Court, Sarat Chandra Ghosh, an executive in a British firm, Ramkanai Ghosal, the zamindar of the village and others in a small mud house in 1888 with books donated by the people from their personal collection with the sole objective of spreading education among villagers.

On January 26, 2013, the library will join the club of a handful of libraries that are 125 years old in Howrah. “The Calcutta University was established in 1857. The Mugkalyan Boys School was established in 1866 and Palli Bharati library was established in 1888. It shows that the then village youths tried to keep pace with the socio-cultural movement that was started by Raja Ram Mohun Roy in Calcutta,” said Arun Kumar Ghosh, secretary of Palli Bharati.

Books being issued at the library

Later Mugkalyan Recreation Club, that was founded on the library premises, played an important role in the freedom movement. In December 2012, the club celebrated its centenary year. Both the library and the club were involved in promoting socio-cultural and political movements. The Mugkalyan Sadharan Pathagar was established in a small mud room adjacent to the Mugkalyan Boys’ School. Educated youths from the neighbouring villages visited the library to borrow books as well as to interact with like-minded youths. Gradually, they started to develop an interest in politics and wanted to join the freedom movement but did not have anybody to guide them. Some of them managed to meet Rastra Guru Surendranath Bandopadhyay and requested him to lead them.

In 1905, during the Partition of Bengal, Surendranath Bandopadhyay visited the library. Hundreds of youths from Mugkalyan and neighbouring villages gathered to hear him. “In his book, The Nation in the Making, Surendranath Bandopadhyay mentioned (page 203) his visit to Mugkalyan Sadharan Pathagar and meeting the youths,” said Tapan Guria, the librarian of Palli Bharati.

Inspired by his visit, the library members intensified their freedom movement activities by organising satyagraha and requesting people to boycott British products. In 1908, the young brigade organised a programme to burn British garments as part of nation wide ‘non-co-operation movement’ started by Mahatma Gandhi in a playground of the village in which Charan Kavi Mukunda Das participated. He encouraged the youth by singing his famous song ‘bhenge phel kancher churi, banga nari aar poro na’.

The reading room

Mukunda Das also formed a song squad with Bibhuti Ghosh, a freedom fighter and a library member, as the head. However, defeat of the British football team by the native team Mohan Bagan in 1911 further intensified the sense of nationalism among the youths.

The same year, Mugkalyan Recreation Club was established within the library premises to promote body building, football and other games and sports. Meanwhile with the fast increase in the number of books and members, the library was shifted to another place after 27 years (from 1888 to 1914). However, after the members found it difficult visiting the library at its new address, it was shifted to two separate private houses for some years. Finally, in 1924, one of the villagers, Rabindranath Bandopadhyay, donated land for building a library room.

Babur Math, where freedom fighters burnt British garments and the zamindar’s house

“I can recall elders in my village recounting the enthusiasm with which they worked for months to build the library room. Very few labourers were engaged to save money for buying books for the library,” said Dibendu Ghosh, one of the committee members of the library.

While club members were busy with intensified political movement against the British rulers, the library members went on with their educational and cultural activities. They thought that the objective of spreading education should not be restricted to boys only. The girls should also be properly educated to make the socio-cultural movement a success.

In 1898, the Mugkalyan Girls’ School was established in the library building with the help of the then landlord Santosh Kumar Ghoshal, the head teacher of Mugkalyan Boys’ School, Prafulla Kumar Mitra and librarian Nagendranath Ghosh. “It was difficult for the library and club members to enroll students in the girls’ school when most of them were married off at the age of seven or eight. The members went from door-to-door, visiting the villagers, persuading them to send their daughters to the school. Finally, the school started with five girl students,” said Arun Kumar Ghosh. Now the girl’s school is one of the most standard schools in the locality with more than 800 students.

Beside furthering the cause of formal education, the library members often staged plays to educate people. Novelist Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, who then lived in Bagnan’s Samtaber, often visited the library and once watched a play, Tagore’s Baikunther Khata, enacted by the library members. On December 7, 1931 he wrote a letter to Satyadhan Ghosal, the director and main actor of the play, praising the performance.

The name of Mugkalyan Sadharan Pathagar changed to Palli Bharati after Independence. On December 2012, the members celebrated the centenary year of the club. They are now gearing up for celebrating 125 years of the library. “We have planned a year long programme,” said Arun Kumar Ghosh.