Last of its Kind
Though the famous Northbrook hall was established in 1874, the Northbrook Public Library was not added to the establishment until 1882. It is located in Farashganj, a little north of the Buriganga River.
It was established by the help of donations from prominent Zamindars such as Raja Rai Bahadur, and it soon became one of the most prominent literary hubs in Dhaka. "We heard from the locals that the library was famous for its literary collection," says Nazrul Islam, PNO of Northbrook Public Library. First edition books by Hemming Way, E M Froster, J A R Marriot still sits inside the library shelves. If one goes through the names inside the shelves, they will get to know the glory of Northbrook Library once had.
"Back in the British period, this was a gold mine for book lovers, for its collection. We heard from the locals that it was always packed by people." It is said that Rabindranath Tagore praised the library's book collection when he came to Dhaka in 1926. A club house was built alongside the library named Johnson Hall where most of the cultural activities were held. From theatre to government programmes, this place served as the nucleus of everything," says Nazrul Islam.
After the 1971 war, most of the books were burned by the Pakistani Army. The authorities were planning on shutting the place down. To re-build the library's glory, Maharaja of Tripura, along with Brajendro Kumar Roy and other prominent figures helped with donations. Each of the library shelves are named in their honour.
The place which was once filled with literature enthusiasts now looks like an abandoned grave yard. The library is poorly maintained and other than everyday's newspaper, there's nothing else to read. "We cannot take the books out of the shelves as they are in very poor condition," says the PNO. The last couple of floods destroyed a lot of the books. "We have complained to the authorities many times, but apart from the foundation's maintenance, nothing happens." The books inside these shelves are worth keeping in the museum. If the place is not properly maintained we will soon be losing one of our glorious historical assets.
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