Friday, October 8, 2010

Bonding with books

A meeting with ‘Gnanalaya’ B. Krishnamurthy and falls in love with his collection

The warm smell of parchment is an aphrodisiac to him.

Surely, there must be something stimulating about sitting in a high ceilinged room, walled in by majestic tomes and musty paperbacks on all sides, flipping through centuries of tales waiting to be told.

When a book is opened, time stands still for a special man as the moment is sheer magic for him. Magic that continues to tie B. Krishnamurthy to his books.

Bibliophile Krishnamurthy is the proud possessor of 70,000 titles. His ‘Gnanalaya’ Research Library at Tirukokarnam near Pudukottai is easily one of the biggest private libraries in the country. The USP of his library is the wide collection of priceless first editions in Tamil.

“First editions are always special. Often, subsequent editions are shorn off the preface, forewords and valuable introductions that the author may have written. These provide a rare insight into the life and times of the author, the social and historical context which can enhance research.”

Full report here Hindu

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