Among the Padma Shri Awardees 2026, one particular individual stood out, gaining huge social media attention. It was a man who dedicated almost all of his lifetime assets to build an adobe of knowledge. Yes, it was Anke Gowda who created the country’s largest free-access library named Pustak Mane, containing over 2 million books, through decades of efforts and accumulated wealth. The government paid homage to Gowda- who was once a bus conductor- by gifting him the honour of Padma Shri 2026 under the category of the “Unsung Heroes.” Lets learn more about this wonderful human being and also about his “gift to the coming generations.”
Anke Gowda’s Humble Beginnings
Gowda was born into a family that engaged in farming for a living. Most of his family members didn’t consider the habit of reading as something important. However, Anke Gowda entered the mesmerising world of books when he was pursuing his higher studies in college. It was the loving persuasion of an inspiring teacher named Anantharamu that shifted the course of his life.
Reading suddenly turned into a passion and, at the age of 20, Gowda started collecting books. He was working as a bus conductor during this period and he made sure that almost 80% of his monthly savings should be dedicated to buying books. This habit laid the founding stone in building India’s largest library containing wisdom from every corner of the world. In fact, his dedication to reading went so far that he even sold his Mysuru house so as to get more books.
Anke Gowda’s Pustak Mane
Also known as Angegowda Book House, Pustak Mane is a library that houses more than 2 million books written in more than twenty different languages. The location is near Mysuru; precisely at Haralahalli village. At Pustak Mane, we can get access to more than 5 lakh foreign books from all over the world that are rare to find today. Dictionaries? More than 5,000. Furthermore, you can also find manuscripts that were written almost two centuries ago in this knowledge sanctuary. From literature to science, philosophy to history; you name it, books from all kinds of genre are available here. The best part? There is no membership fees and the library is open to everyone. Anyone can go in, read and learn. There is no restrictions.
Anke Gowda’s Legacy of Knowledge
The library itself is Gowda’s home. He sleeps with books and wake up seeing books. His wife Vijayalakshmi also lives with him, feeling proud about her husband’s wealth of wisdom which is entirely dedicated to the community and future generations. Additionally, their son, Sagar, helps them in taking care of the books. This inspiring story of Anke Gowda shows us that one individual can transform himself into a lamp of knowledge in today’s world of meaningless distractions and social media fantasies.
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