Dhani Ram Chatrik Library finds few takers

Neha Walia

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 13

Even the best footfall at the Dhani Ram Chatrik Library on the premises of Virsa Vihar means hardly six readers, mostly budding writers and theatre artistes, who come here to soak themselves in some of the best works in the history of famous folklores in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu and English.

Despite having a collection of 5,000 books and featuring works by well known Punjabi scholars, writers and artistes, it is yet to overcome the challenge of getting consistent footfall. “Our biggest challenge has been to generate funds and get resources from the state to set up infrastructure and add latest literature to our collection,” says Kewal Dhaliwal, noted theatre person and president of Virsa Vihar Society.

“We wanted to start with digitisation process, since some of the literary books we have are rare and exclusive, but lack of funds are a big concern. Without even a librarian or maintenance staff, the onus of caretaking falls on the Virsa Vihar staff. We need more book shelves for storage, and for added editions of popular literary magazines like Filhaal, Hunn, Ekam and Samkaali for the readers. We tried reaching out through seminars, book discussion sessions and book exhibitions, but the response wasn’t great,” he says.

In its 10 years of existence, its best collections have been acquired through generous donations by collectors, artistes and writers, who are patrons of the library. In a city that boasts of literary legacy, the library houses all the acclaimed works of Lala Dhani Ram Chatrik, considered one of the greatest Punjabi lyricist and poet of the time. Yet all that seems to fail when it comes to getting readers.

“Dhani Ram Chatrik was the first to standardise Gurmukhi typeset and publish prominent works through latest technology at his printing press. He was also inspired by Bhai Veer Singh and his acclaimed poem that was turned into a song — Mele Vich Jatt — is housed in our audio archives. We want the young readers to get acquainted with such literature,” says Dhaliwal. They have an open membership system and with 15-20 permanent members, Dhaliwal is working on to explore the niche library status for the space.

“I believe that every village and town should have libraries for a healthy and informed generation of youngsters. Reading builds a strong community of individuals, who are productive in every aspect,” he adds.