KARWAR: An international library built on a hillock at Gokarna by the Pandrata Circle, a French association based in Paris, and Study Circle Association, Gokarna, will be inaugurated on December 20 in a unique style, Tabet Elias, Ms Piquet Daphne, founders of French association and Ganapati Vedeshwar of Study Circle Association said on Friday.The inauguration would be marked by a cultural festival in which renowned flautist Annada Prasanna Pattanaik, famous sitarist Ustad Rafique Khan, tabla player Udayraj Karpur and proficient harmonium player Ravindra Yavgal would perform, they said.Besides, vocalist Raghavendra Bhat, percussionist Dattaraj Surlaker and tabla player Rushikesh Phadke would also enthral the audience. Nitya Niketan, a dance troupe from Kodavoor, Udupi, would perform Bharatanatyam, they added. A large number of people from France and foreign tourists are expected to attend the festival.The library would also act as Franco-Indian Cultural Centre, allowing cultural exchange between the two countries, although its specific goals were to preserve and protect rare and valuable books, favour reading and intellectual practice and help researchers and students.The library would create a dynamic exchange of knowledge among foreign tourists, who frequently visit Gokarna, and the local people, Tabet said.The library would also be a training centre to train youths in keeping the books and their restoration.It also proposed to conduct classes in French, he said.Cultural programmes would be organised regularly to encourage local talents and to introduce renowned artistes to the people of the district, Vedeshwar said.The library, which possessed over 70,000 books, had study rooms, and it would be equipped with computers. It also had an exhibition hall where rare stamps and coins, paintings and costumes of Ramayana and Mahabharata characters and other ancient monuments would be on display, Vedeshwar said.The Man Who Built the LibraryKARWAR: The Study Circle Library, an international library built at Gokarna by the Pandrata Circle, a French association based in Paris, and Study Circle Association, Gokarna, is a one man creation. Ganapati Vedeshwar, a resident of Gokarna, is the architect of this library.Surprisingly, he started a library at the age of 10, taking a few of his friends as its members, and named it Bala Sangha. He used to used his small pocket money to buy books that suited the taste of children.And, he never looked back since then.Inspired by great writers like Gourish Kaikini, Vedeshwar took it as his mission to develop a good library at Gokarna. Through Kaikini, Vedeshwar came into contact with many great writers like Shivaram Karant, who donated their books to him.Vedeshwar also contacted universities and foreign embassies to collect books for his library.Study Circle library contains over 70,000 books from around the world. It has a lot of old books printed in lithography in 1800. There are some 175-year-old study books printed by the erstwhile Bombay government.It has all the volumes of critical study of Mahabharata, published by Oriental Research Institute, Pune, and all Dharma Shastra History publications and also Religion Major Opus written by P V Kane.The books on fiction, science, politics, geography and politics can also be found in the library.Interestingly, London Royal Academy member Sir Herbert Heed, who visited the library, offered himself to become one of its directors. Even Dr Rajendra Prasad, had visited this library.
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