This Ex-MP Started A Top Notch Science Library In Pune After Retirement

When Pune MP Pradeep Rawat retired from his government job, what he missed most was the Parliament library and the vast wealth of books. The BJP politician who worked under the AB Vajpayee Government began his own library with 5000 books mostly on science and evolutionary biology which is now considered to be one of the most well-stocked libraries in the city.

Three years in the making, the library has seen 30,000 students spend hours at the institution preparing for their exams. Interviewing a former pupil about the same, a report by Indian Express states, “The collection is helpful for civil services aspirants. The encylopaedias, magazines and books ranging from spiritualism and science were terrific,” said Atul Kanade, who used to be a frequent visitor and went on to top the Maharashtra PSC exam last year.”
The Rawat’s Nature Library is situated on the Pune-Satara road and was always a dream that ultimately came true for Rawat. “Pradeep, whose father passed away when he was only 13, was always interested in studying science. He took admission in Abashabeb Garware College to study the same, but ended up being put behind bars during the JP movement and could not finish the course.  This never stopped the autodidact from reading more,” reported The Better India.

The library has books on science, evolutionary biology, brain and behaviour, plants and animals, science and technology, climate science and biographies and works by renowned thinkers such as Carl Sagan and Charles Darwin. Rawat has even gone out of his way to collect books sometimes with a “I must have this book in my library” urge, as he puts it, that saw him evening bidding online and buying a second-hand copy of Jacques Monod’s Chance and Necessity for $200. “The book is rather dated after 45 years. But don’t you think it is important to go back and see what issues were at an earlier time?” said Rawat, who often travels to the United States and Europe and returns with eight to 10 bags filled with books,” reported Indian Express. Some of these books are not even found in universities. Dr L S Shashidhara, head of biology at IISER, said it is one of the best public libraries he has visited. “There is a vast collection on all aspects of science and not many are found at even our institute or Pune University. What is important is that despite not being a science stream graduate, he has read these scholarly books that are usually read by researchers,” said Shahsidhara to the publication Sakaal Times. It was reported that Rawat was not too happy with the situation of school libraries. “Lamenting over the current status of school libraries, Rawat said he has kept special sets of science books for children at his library. ‘We are hoping for support from schools, colleges and researchers to work together in dealing with various aspects of science such as ecology and environment,’ Rawat added.The library with a capacity to accommodate 35 people at a time will have absolutely no entry fee. Besides the books and journals it will also have advanced Internet facility for people to access E-books,” Sakaal Times states.

Rawat plans on having weekly academic discussions and debates at the library soon. You can visit his library here and email him at enquiry@rawatacademy.in for more information.

Feature Image Courtesy: Arul Horizon/ Indian Express