Unsung heroes: One man, 2 million books, meet the Padma Shri recipient behind the world’s largest free access library

Early life

Born to a farmer father, Anke Gowda was the first to graduate in his family. After completing his Bachelor’s degree, he became a bus conductor but quit his job soon and started working as a security guard at a sugar factory to pursue Masters in Kannada in University of Mysore.

“At this point, though I had a collection of some books related to Swami Vivekananda and others, what really haunted me was that I was unable to find books for my studies. I took note of what K Anantharamaiah had said and then started collecting books,” he recollected.

“None should be bothered that they would not get books to study. So, I wanted to build an institution,” he added.

When he started collecting books, the space constraint became a hurdle. Then, 25 years ago, Gowda happened to meet liquor baron Hari Khoday when the latter visited his village to inaugurate a temple. Surprised by Gowda’s collection, Khoday decided to buy a piece of land and build a library for him.

Relentless quest

For over five decades, Gowda has been on a relentless quest to gather every book he could find. Using his own earnings initially, and later with support from donors and readers who believed in his vision, he built what is now recognised as the world’s largest free-access library.

His collection has more than 2,500 books related to the Bhagavad Gita, 25,000 books related to the Vedas, Ramayana, and the Mahabharata, 5,000 books on science, another 5,000 books related to medical science, 1,000 travel diaries, 2,000 books on English literature, about 8,000 books on foreign language literature and many more.

But the path hasn’t been easy. Even as he speaks about his achievements, the weight of unfulfilled potential is evident. “I now have an acre of land, which I got through donors. The entire place is totally filled with books, and I would require more land to keep these books,” he said, gesturing toward his garage, where hundreds of thousands of books await their place on shelves.

When asked if he ever considered shifting or expanding to larger cities like Mysuru or Bengaluru, Gowda replied, “Even if I want to, who will provide land or place? I never thought of it because it is just not viable.”

Asked if he ever felt like giving up, Gowda said with a wry smile, “Consider it as a boon or curse of Goddess Saraswati, I can never turn back when someone asks for a book, even at midnight. For all these years, what has kept me motivated is the readers.”

“There are a lot of philanthropists, trusts, and eminent personalities who visit my library. Though they don’t say it directly, they yearn to take this collection under their control. I keep them away for a simple reason – the library has to be accessible to all for free,” the Padma Shri recipient said.

Gowda also expressed concerns over the decline of reading habits among the younger generation. “Over the years, I have seen a decline in the habit of reading, especially after smartphones came into existence,” he said.

But there is still light amid the gloom, Gowda said, and pointed out that “a lot of people who studied here have become IAS officers, government officers, and scholars. I am happy about it.”

Tourist attraction

Today, his library has become more of a tourist attraction than a reader’s paradise. “On average, 50-100 people visit daily to read books. Most of them are appearing for competitive examinations. But tourists visit in larger numbers,” Gowda said, and added that to address this problem, he has created a separate space for serious readers.

When the Padma Shri announcement was made, Gowda said he experienced a web of emotions. “I felt I deserved it, but never in my dreams did I think I would be recognised,” he admitted. “At the same time, I felt very sad that I was going to collect the award while keeping 10 lakh books outside with no space for readers,” he concluded.