Indian man with house of more than 1 million books

Anke Gowda, 72 years old, has spent half a century collecting and preserving every page of books. He has turned his small house into a real library with more than 1 million books of all genres.

Anke Gowda with her books at Pustaka Mane bookstore - Photo: The New Indian Express

Born into a poor farming family in Mandya district (Karnataka state, India), Mr. Anke Gowda did not have many opportunities to access books.

Gowda's childhood was spent in the fields, sweat and rare books he found by chance. His thirst for knowledge ignited a dream in him: to build himself a "book castle" to satisfy his love of reading .

The bookish farmer

A graduate with a master’s degree in Kannada literature, he worked at the Pandavapura sugar mill for about 30 years. The work was steady, the salary was not much, but one thing that all his colleagues knew was that 80% of his salary was spent on buying books .

On each trip, instead of bringing gifts back to his family, Gowda brought back towering stacks of books.

His great inspiration was his teacher Anantharamu, and the first books of Ramakrishna Ashram Publishing House which he read by heart.

"When I was in college, I longed to read a lot of books but did not have access to them. I told myself: in the future, I must have a lot of books so that everyone can come and read them," Gowda recalled.

Starting with a few dozen books, by 2004, Gowda's small house had more than 200,000 books. Then the story of the "book-loving farmer" spread further in India. When businessman Sri Hari Khoday heard about it, he supported him in building a private library of more than 2,000 square meters, named Pustaka Mane ( house of books).

It can be said that Pustaka Mane has become a place that provides valuable knowledge for the community - Photo: The New Indian Express

Community Treasure

Today Pustaka Mane has become a familiar address for researchers, teachers, students and tourists . All can come in to read and consult books for free.

The collection here is incredibly diverse, from thin books of only 10 pages to books weighing 3-4kg; from novels, literary criticism, books on science , technology, medicine, mythology, history, travelogues, astrology... to even children's books. In particular, Gowda keeps rare editions published from 1832 to books released just a few weeks ago.

A female reader reads a book at the Book House - Photo: The New Indian Express

Thousands of students, researchers, even authors and critics have come here to look up documents. Many doctoral theses have been completed thanks to the rare books that can only be found here. It can be said that Pustaka Mane has become a place that provides a valuable source of knowledge for the community.

"There are history books that I couldn't find anywhere else, but they were in Mr. Gowda's library," Mahadeshwara, a history graduate, told The New Indian Express .

Over 70 years old, Anke Gowda still does most of the work herself: sweeping, dusting, sorting, and unpacking bags of unsorted books . All done by hand, without a digitization system or support staff.

Gowda's greatest companion was his wife, Vijayalakshmi.

The couple still live in the "book house", sleeping on the floor and cooking in a small corner. "We have never thought about leaving. We feel at peace among the piles of books," said Vijayalakshmi.

The future of the 'house of a million books'

To preserve and develop this work, Gowda established the Anke Gowda Jnana Pratishthana , a foundation to continue collecting, classifying and storing books. A new building is being constructed next to Pustaka Mane, with the hope that it will have a scientific classification system, making it easier for readers to access.

At 72, Gowda’s strength is limited but his love for books has never waned. He still regularly walks along the book streets of Bengaluru – Majestic, MG Road, Avenue Road, looking for new books or asking for the ones discarded by libraries or households.

"This place is not just mine, but everyone's. I hope that one day, Pustaka Mane will become an open research center, where anyone who loves books can come and find the knowledge they need," he confided.

Back to topic

Lam Lake

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nguoi-dan-ong-an-do-voi-ngoi-nha-hon-1-trieu-cuon-sach-20250905131607136.htm