Kendrapara: In the age of Internet, when everyone is busy surfing social media and other websites, either for gaining knowledge or collecting information or just to while away their spare time, libraries are outdated for modern generation.
In these times, an octogenarian has made it a mission to develop reading habit among the youths. His first step was to set up a library at his village to encourage reading habit among the rural youths. For the last two decades, he has been trying to enrich Oriya language and its literature along with reading culture.
Meet the dhoti-clad 84-year-old Gopal Charan Senapati, a resident of Baruna village under Rajkanika block.
He set up the library with his own efforts and persuades villagers to spend some time at his library everyday reading vernacular dailies or books.
Senapati set up the library in 1994 in memory of his parents and named it after his late father Dibakar Senapati and late mother Sagar Debi. The library No is known as Dibakar – Sagar Debi Smaraki Ama Gaon Pathagar.
Senapati joined Rourkela Steel Plant in 1958 as a mechanical supervisor and retired as a junior engineer in 1994. During his service, he had been associated with Oriya Sahitya Pathachakra in Rourkela. At that time, he realised that the language and its literature had not developed in Rourkela. So, he thought of setting up a library at his native village and fulfilled his wish after retirement by spending money from his pocket.
Explaining his mission, Senapati said, “I have set up the library to encourage youths to develop their reading habit instead of wasting their valuable time in gossiping and surfing social media. The reading habit would definitely develop their literary talents and would boost positive attitude towards development of society. Besides, it enriches the Oriya language, literature and strengthens its heritage and culture. So, most of the books in my library are from Oriya literature.”
The library has about 3,000 titles. Books on Oriya prose, poetry, short stories, epics, biographies, autobiographies and classics line the shelves. Some eminent writers’ literary works also got a pride of place in the library.
The literary works of Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja, Kabi Surya Baladev Rath, Fakira Mohan Senapati, Madhusudan Das, Pandit Gopabandu Das, Gangadhar Meher, Gopinath Mohanty and other writers can be seen at the library. It also has works of recent writers such as APJ Abdul Kalam’s My Journey, Advantage India, Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone, Ram Chandra Guha’s India after Gandhi etc, said Srikanta Senapati, the nephew of Gopal Charan Senapati.
“One can find a dozen Oriya vernacular dailies at the library. College students use the library for their studies in history, Oriya literature and political science,” said Sandhyarani Rout, a college student.
Every day, more than a hundred youths and elderly persons visit the library to read newspapers and books. Gopal Charan Senapati never collects a single rupee from anybody visiting his library either for its maintenance or for purchasing books and magazines, said Uttam Senapati, a local, who is a regular visitor to the library.
“Every month, I used to purchase books worth about Rs 2,000 from my pension money. Till my last breath, I would dedicate myself for enriching Oriya language and literature through my library,” said Senapati.
His zeal to accomplish the mission can be gauged from the fact that Senapati spends seven hours (8 am to 1 pm and 6 pm to 8 pm) in the library at such a ripe age. PNN