Watch | Why is Chennai’s 97-year-old Goschen Library now seeing a revival?

Chennai’s historic Goschen Library is now in the throes of revival with a sharp rise in membership. Meet the people keeping this oft-forgotten city marvel alive, and relevant

It is quarter to 8 in the morning. Arunachalam Street in Chintadripet slowly swells to life even as the weekend stupor engulfs the rest of the city. Chimes from the magnificent Zion Church nearby mesh with the whirr of racing autos, as the faint, unmissable scent of Chintadripet fish market fills the air. Morning joggers have just finished their final lap at May Day Park. 

Thilagam amma arrives in an auto, crutch in hand. She opens the rusty iron gate to The Goschen Library, now 97 years old and ashen with time. She proceeds to meticulously spread newspapers, both English and Tamil, on a slightly worn wooden table, then dusts the plastic chairs. This is her daily routine, until CA Mohanarangam, the librarian, arrives. “The newspapers readers will start coming now,” he says. By 9am, they trickle in, picking up the newspaper of their choice. A calming silence ensues.  

Around 35 readers walk in every day, of which around 20 are for the newspapers, staying true to the sensibilities of a community reading room. Sixty five-year-old Devaraj, a casual labourer from Chintadripet, is a regular. Between reading an English newspaper from cover to cover, he curtly says, “I come here three to four times a week. I have not borrowed a book yet but I do read many newspapers, both Tamil and English.” From the Thirukkural and historical fiction like Udaiyar and Kadal Pura to novels like Jala Deepam, books across genres such as medicine, drama and poetry occupy the metal bureau. As for English, children’s short stories and subject-based exercise books seem to be favourites. 

Now a branch library under the Department of Public Libraries, the signage on the building says P Vijayaragavalu Chetty’s Hall right above The Goschen Library in fading brick-red lettering. Amid a flurry of conflicting historical narratives, one stands true. 

“The building was constructed by Dewan Bahadur Sri Vijayaraghavalu Chetty. He made his fortune as a contractor for the PWD, in constructing the small causes court in the High Court of Madras and also the Harbour buildings. He appears to have been a resident of Chintadripet himself. So he constructed this free library, out of charitable interest, in 1926 - 27,” says historian V Sriram. 

At the time, George Joachim Goschen was the Governor of Madras, and the library was named after him. Vijayaraghavulu also constructed a few mandapams inside Chintadripet’s Adi Kesava temple, as a donation.  “It was an era where a lot of free libraries were being set up by well-to-do benefactors of the city, the first one being Sir Savalai Rajasamy Mudaliar library built in the 1880s in Pudupet,” continues Sriram. From then, with newspaper printing gaining ground, reading rooms became popular. 

Mohanarangam flips open a yellowed register to point out the climb in membership and patronage. “In 2021-22, the total number of new members was 28. Six months into 2023, it is now close to 50.” The reason behind this renewed interest is multifold.