In the quiet village of Haralahalli near Srirangapatna in Karnataka’s Mandya district stands Pustaka Mane, a remarkable free public library built by one man’s lifelong devotion to books. Founded by Anke Gowda, the library has grown into one of India’s largest free-access book collections, housing over two million books in more than 20 languages.
Born into a farming family with limited access to education, Gowda developed a passion for reading during his college years. Over the next five decades, he invested nearly 80 per cent of his earnings into buying books, even selling his house in Mysuru to expand the collection. His efforts resulted in a unique rural knowledge hub offering literature, science, philosophy, history, competitive exam material, rare manuscripts and thousands of dictionaries — all without membership fees.
Gowda and his wife continue to live inside the library, personally maintaining the vast collection with help from their family. Despite limited resources and incomplete cataloguing, Pustaka Mane attracts students, researchers, writers and scholars from across the country.
In recognition of his extraordinary contribution to literacy and learning, the Government of India honoured Anke Gowda with the Padma Shri under the ‘Unsung Heroes’ category, celebrating his mission to make books accessible to everyone, regardless of background or location.
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