Mandya: Anke Gowda , a quiet bibliophile who devoted his life to preserving knowledge, has been honoured with the Padma Shri by the Union govt for building one of India’s largest private libraries.The award recognises the remarkable contribution of the 75-year-old, who, through personal sacrifice and a deep sense of public service, created a vast repository of books without any govt or institutional support.A native of Haralahalli village in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, Anke Gowda is a former employee of the Pandavapura Sugar Factory. His love for books began in childhood and grew into a lifelong mission. Despite modest earnings, he spent nearly 80% of his income, pension, and savings on purchasing books, guided by his belief that “books are divine and a library is a temple of knowledge.”Over the last five decades, he transformed his home into the famed ‘Pustaka Mane’ (House of Books), a free public library, with no membership or usage fees. Today, the library houses more than 20 lakh books and magazines, including rare and out-of-print works, old newspapers, research journals, and manuscripts.The collection spans over 20 Indian and foreign languages and includes more than 5,000 dictionaries, nearly five lakh rare foreign publications, 35,000 international magazines, 2,500 Kannada magazines, 2,500 titles on Mahatma Gandhi, 2,500 books on the Bhagavad Gita, and over 100 religious texts, including the Bible. Maintained with meticulous care, Pustaka Mane has become an important centre for students, scholars, writers, and researchers from across Karnataka and beyond.Speaking to TOI, Anke Gowda recalled the scarcity of books during his youth. “When we were growing up, books were scarce. That is why, nearly 50 years ago, I resolved to ensure that all knowledge was available to people under one roof,” he said. He began by collecting books on Swami Vivekananda, a collection that later expanded into a library of more than 20 lakh books, including over 700 from China covering major world languages.“My only goal has always been to make information accessible to everyone. I feel honoured by govt’s decision to confer the Padma Shri on me, though I never pursued awards or recognition,” he added.Mandya deputy commissioner Kumara congratulated Anke Gowda on being conferred the Padma Shri.
