The Heritage Section of The Nilgiri Library, which houses old books, some dating back to the early 16th century, has been restored to its glory.
The restored section, which houses bound books from England, brought to India by the East India Company, now possesses thousands of books on a huge array of subjects. “This section has been dedicated to the memory of C.P. Ramaswami Iyer, who served as the president for eight years,” said Geetha Srinivasan, the grand-daughter of Mr. Iyer, and the current president of the library. The restoration process was undertaken and supervised by Ms. Srinivasan, who is also the Convenor of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), the Nilgiris.
“It took Rs. 5 lakh and more than six months to restore the section,” she told The Hindu. The walls were covered with fungus, and the books, which had been meticulously arranged during the Colonial era and had remained untouched since their exodus, had to be removed from the hand-crafted wooden shelves where they were stored.
The Nilgiri library, over 150-years-old, is a unique building, throwing together Gothic and Victorian styles of architecture. Though the building itself has required maintenance, the books contained within the library are remarkably well-preserved.
