A glimpse of rare collection of Punjabi literature

AMRITSAR: District Library in Rani Ka Bagh was established in 1982 It was set up at a time when the city had only one public library

Updated At : 06:47 AM Jun 09, 2017 IST

A rare copy of a Punjabi translation of ‘Gitanjali’ at the District Library in Amritsar. Tribune Photo

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 8

District Library in Rani Ka Bagh was established in 1982. It was set up at a time when the city had only one public library.

It has a large collection of books related to Punjabi literature. Some of the books are first edition and rare copies of classic English writers translated in Punjabi.

“It was considered an achievement for Punjabi writers and linguistic professionals at that time as a few people were aware of foreign literature. Our pool of Punjabi literature consists of verses from Urdu writers as well, a language that has been pushed to oblivion and thanks to the growing impact of English and digital media,” says Prabhjot Sandhu, librarian.

The library has also the rare Punjabi translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali, which is considered a milestone in the Indian literature history. “We came to know about it only last year, when we were going through a digitisation phase. We found a copy in our collection and we enquired about its significance. It is the only Punjabi translation done at that time,’ said Sandhu.

She says there are several other important books, about which readers do not know.

“Most of our readers do not know about these significant books, which are in Punjabi, English and Urdu and that can stand out as rare literature. We have limited access to readers because we do not have any digital portal to promote them. Some of these books are not available at any book shop or online portal so those interested can find such books here,’ added Sandhu.

Opening a small window

Manmeet Singh, a student of Banking and an avid reader, is busy creating a WhatsApp group and comprising members from the library who can contribute to promotion these books. Spending seven hours in the library, Manmeet says if he can dedicatedly give one hour to the library, it may be worth enough.

“We are trying to create a network of readers and members of the library. We are making them adopt a book and promoting it among their peers.”