How can you live with only books for company? J Devanarayanan Potty proves that he can. At Vani Granthalaya, his home-cum-library tucked inside Cheppil Lane near the Lakshmi Varaha Temple, Sreevaraham, shelves overflowing with books welcome you in.
Sanskrit, law, medicine, philosophy, tantra, religion, music, literature, history, theology, art, culture... books on varied subjects are stacked on the roof-high shelves. He doesn’t keep count of the number of books, but over the last four decades his major expenditure has been buying books other than purchasing the present house four years ago.
“I am not married and all that I earn is spent on books. I lived in rented houses in different parts of the city and the books were there always with me,” says the 60-year-old.
He was appointed a temple priest by Devaswom Board in 1977 and within three years or so he began his journey as a reader and collector of books. An employee with the Devaswom Board office in the accounts section until he took voluntary retirement in 2013, he is now head priest (thanthri) of 150 to 200 temples.
In the company of books
Devanarayanan avers that his interest in reading happened organically. “I was happy in the company of books from childhood and continue to be so,” says Devanarayanan.
But why this interest in subjects such as medicine and law? “Medical texts are extremely informative. As for law books, laws get twisted or misinterpreted in courts whereas these books present uninterpreted facts,” he says. The library has several volumes about court cases, judgements and legal commentaries, including publications of All India Reporter, the country’s pioneering presence in legal reporting and publishing.
Most of the books in the library are rare and there are tomes on which he has spent quite a fortune. Like Wall & Melzack’s Textbook of Pain , that cost him ₹21,000 and Walsh & Hoyt’s Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology , priced ₹9,940! “I have read them from cover to cover. I would be lying if I say that I have read every book in my library. But whenever I read, I read a book completely. I read one book a day. I am always in a mood to read,” he says with a smile.
Then there is the second edition of the Oxford English dictionary, which comes with a magnifying glass. He took a loan from his Provident Fund account to buy it.
An inspiring presence in his life has been D Appukuttan Nair, co-founder of Margi, an art connoisseur and engineer, who encouraged him to read and study. There are some book stores in the city that update him about books and get it for him. “They give me books worth up to ₹50,000 on credit and I pay the amount as and when I get the money. My salary has not gone beyond ₹30,000, and I am proud that with that amount I could achieve this much,” he adds.
A post-graduate in Hindi and Sanskrit, he has Sanskrit books and Buddhist texts written in Pali, with Hindi translation in the library.
Prized possessions
Encyclopaedia Britannica’s editions, yearbooks and 60 volumes of Great Books of Western World hold place of pride here. Books on Vedanta, philosophy, tantra, music, cinema and 100 volumes of books written by Mahatma Gandhi are also at the Granthalaya. “I don’t understand higher mathematics and computer and so books on them aren’t there. I don’t like computer-related stuff!” he says with a chuckle.
Meanwhile, he stopped buying new books from this year. He plans to convert the library into a trust and prepare a catalogue. “If at least one person can benefit from the library, I will be happy. I won’t be here for long. In six months or so I plan to become an ascetic and move to the Himalayas. I am sure somebody will be around to take care of this...,” he signs off.
