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 A great library contains the library of the human race.
The great consulting room of a wise man is a library
- G. Dawson.
With the advent of computer, internet and other communication and
information technologies, the art of reading is gradually
decreasing. Therefore, except for a very few libraries in the city,
others are sparsely populated. Many Chennaivasis are not even aware
of the existence of age-old libraries.
One such is the Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. U.V.
Swaminatha Iyer Library, Arundale Beach Road in Besant Nagar. The
library was established in 1943, a year after the death of Dr. U.V.
Swaminatha Iyer the great Tamil scholar and researcher, who was
instrumental in bringing to light many long-forgotten works of
classical Tamil literature.. He is affectionately called Tamil
Thaathaa.
 Around 3000 palm leaf manuscripts, about 850
transcribed literary works in Swaminatha Iyer’s own handwriting and
over 27, 000 books have been stacked in the library. These books are
in Tamil, English and Sanskrit.
Around sixty palm leaf manuscripts describing
Sangam literature are also available here. It is also accredited to
be the only library in the world to have palm leaf manuscripts
relating to Silappathikaram and Thirukkural. Apart from this, the
various personal items used by the Tamil scholar like his turban,
Rudraksha, towel and books are also exhibited in the library.
 Despite the historical collections, the public
response is very poor. M.V. Pasupathi, curator, Mahamahopadhyaya Dr.
U.V. Swaminatha Iyer Library said that the library is very useful
for research purposes and many research students as well as scholars
are the beneficiaries. There is no subscription fee, said, Pasupathi.
However, the books are not for lending as they are meant only for
reference.
People who come to Besant Nagar to enjoy the cool
breeze at Elliots beach could pay a visit to Mahamahopadhyaya Dr.
U.V. Swaminatha Iyer Library and take a look at the rare
collections.
U. Bakialakshmi
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