Home ›› 19 Nov 2021 ›› Nation
Sudhijan Pathagar, a pioneering private sector public library in Narayanganj, has been playing a significant role in supporting education, spreading literarily and cultural activities in the port city for over 57 years.
The library is open to all. The readers can read books in the library or can take a certain number of books to home. If anyone wants, they can become a member of the library accepting certain rules.
Sudhijan Pathagar is not mere a library that offers scope to read books. It also organises various literary and cultural events including general knowledge competitions for primary and secondary students, holds seminars and symposiums on different issues.
The library initially started in 1964 with only 10 books and 25 members, a shelf, a table, 10 chairs, and two kerosene lamps. Now the library has about 42,000 books on various genres including poetry, literature, travel, science fiction, religion, sports, film, general knowledge as well as biographies and thrillers. Of those, 35,000 books are in Bangla and the others are English books. The library has its own publications too.
Naraynganj Sanskritik Jote former General Secretary Dheman Saha Jewel said behind the scene acts of two individuals made the library’s launching successful. They are – Sarder Jayenuddin, the then director of National Book Centre, and Fazle Rabbi, the then publication officer of Bangla Academy, who later became director of the National Book Centre and served there for more than two decades. Fazle Rabbi is now the senior-most expert on the books and publication sector in the country, he said.
Dhiman added that the duo was also behind the idea of organising book fairs in Bangladesh. In the early 1960s, Fazle Rabbi found a book at Bangala Academy titled ‘The Wonderful World of Books’ written and edited by Alfred Stefferud. After reading it, he then gave it to Jayenuddin and both later shared the idea of holding a book fair. In 1965, a day-long children book fair was arranged on the ground floor of the then Central Public Library in Dhaka.
Fazle Rabbi and some other book enthusiasts who were regular passengers from Dhaka to Narayanganj every evening dreamt of setting up a vibrant library in their hometown and their dream came true on February 2, 1964. The library began with a small room rented for Tk 50 in a house owned by Rahmat Ullah Haji on Harkatan Bannerjee Road in the Amlapara neighbourhood of the city.
Although Fazle Rabbi was the pioneer of the library, Mohammad Nurul Haque, a history lecturer at Government Tolaram College, was the founder-director.
In 1969, the library was shifted to the Co-Operative Building on Bangabandhu Road, with the support of industrialist Hossain Jamal. After the independence of Bangladesh, Hossain Jamal and then Narayanganj municipality chairman Ali Ahammad Chunka came forward to give the library a permanent campus.
Ali Ahammad Chunka leased about six kathas of land for 99 years, on which the library exists to this day.
On July 8, 1977, then Dhaka deputy commissioner AMM Shawkat Ali laid the foundation stone for the new library building. He also donated Tk 1,25,000 for the construction of the library. On July 22, 1978, then Dhaka divisional commissioner M Alam Khan inaugurated the new building of the library.
The Sudhijan Pathagar played the pioneering role in introducing the book fair in Narayanganj. The week-long book fair in October 1970 is a landmark event.
At present, there are 9,160 active library members. Of them, 6,901 are students and the remaining 2,259 are general members. Seven people supervise the activities of the library.
Ovijit Roy Raghu, cultural personality and activist, said Sudhijan Pathagar has been spreading the light of education among the citizens of the port city since 1964.
“Now, the time has changed. The young generation is very busy with technology-based education. The authorities concerned should think about the matter,” he added.
Poet Rois Mukul and Ziabul Ebon said Sudhijan Pathagar has been holding generation to generation in the port city to knowledge and cultural activities.
Women’s rights activistS Raj Lokkhe and Asma Begum said the library has kept an important role among the people of Narayanganj especially for women.
Eminent scholars, educationists, poets and other litterateurs regularly visited the library in the early days. They include Dr Muhammad Enamul Haque, Prof Muhammad Abdul Hye, Prof Syed Ali Ahsan, Prof Munir Chowdhury, Dr Sanjida Khatun and many others. School and college students met with them and became very inspired, said some locals.
Rafiur Rabbi, a cultural personality in the city, said Sudhijan Pathagar has an impact not only on the people of Naryanganj but also on people across the country.
Rafiur said better books with the latest information should be collected more for the library and the new generation should be brought under new programmes including study circle and cultural activities.
Kashem Jamal, Director of Sudhijan Pathagar said, “We have the vision to increase the activities of the library to combat the new situation when people’s reading habit is decreasing.”
“As part of the plan, we will soon start mobile library services, “he added.
