U.Ve.Sa. Library
இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: உ.வே.சா நூலகம்
U.Ve.Sa. Library (U.V. Swaminatha Iyer Library) is a library containing books collected by U.V. Swaminath Iyer. This library was established in 1943 at Arundale Beach Road, Besant Nagar, Chennai, in memory of U.V. Swaminatha Iyer. It contains1,832 books, 939 Tamil Chuvadis (palm leaf manuscripts). U.V.Sa's 3,000 handwritten letters to other Tamil scholars and his diaries are also part of it. There are many unprinted Chuvadis available here. This library is managed by Directorate of Public Libraries, Government of Tamil Nadu.
History
After the death of U.V. Swaminatha Iyer in 1942, his son Kalyana Sundara Iyer wanted to preserve the books collected by him and make it a library. According to his wish Rukmini Devi Arundale, a member of the Brahma Gnana Sabha and head of the Kalakshetra organization, acquired the traces and notes from the collection of U.V. Swaminatha Iyer and established a library under the name Mahamagopathiyaya Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Iyer Library in the head office building of the Brahma Gnana Sabha, Adyar, Chennai on July 5, 1943.
The library functioned at this location for about twenty years. After that it was shifted to Thiruvanmiyur and operated within Kalakshetra building. There was a demand to have its own building for this library. Subsequently, the Indian Central Government offered take up half of the cost for the construction of the library building. In 1962, the construction of a building for the library at Besant Nagar, Arundale Beach Road, Chennai, started with the funds provided by the Tamil Nadu government and donations from Tamil enthusiasts. The library was inaugurated on May 22, 1967.
The U.Ve.Sa. Library publishes the books written by U.V. Swaminatha Iyer and other research books. A bronze statue of U.V. Swaminatha Iyer was installed at the entrance of this library in 1997.
References
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