Once A Bus Conductor, Padma Shri Anke Gowda Built A 20-Lakh-Book Free Library In Karnataka For All

Books have a unique way of changing lives. For some, they open doors to new worlds; for others, they become the spark for a lifelong mission. For 79-year-old Anke Gowda from Karnataka, books became both a source of knowledge and a promise to ensure that no child is denied access to learning simply because of poverty.

This year, that extraordinary commitment earned him the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honours. 

But long before the recognition arrived, Gowda had already spent decades quietly building a legacy that now houses over 20 lakh books and serves thousands of readers.

A childhood shaped by the absence of books

Born into a farming family in Karnataka’s Mandya district, Gowda grew up in a village where books were a luxury. As a student, he often travelled long distances to Mysuru just to study and access reading material. The struggle left a lasting impression on him.

He understood firsthand what it meant to hunger for knowledge but have limited resources. Determined that future generations should not face the same barriers, he began collecting books wherever and whenever he could.

Building a dream, one book at a time

Gowda’s dream did not take shape overnight. To support his family, he worked many jobs over the years – as a bus conductor, in a sugar factory, as a milk seller, and later as an insurance agent. But no matter how modest his earnings were, books remained a priority.

Whenever he could, he brought home another title. Then another. And another.

What began as a small personal collection slowly took over rooms, shelves, and eventually entire buildings. Family members recall how books occupied every available corner of their lives. Yet for Gowda, each one represented an opportunity that someone else might not have had.

Over the decades, he carefully collected rare manuscripts, dictionaries, magazines, and research material in multiple languages. He wasn’t building a library for himself; he was creating the kind of resource he had once wished existed in his own childhood.

That lifelong effort eventually became Pustak Mane — a sprawling library that today houses nearly 20 lakh books and welcomes everyone from schoolchildren and teachers to researchers and UPSC aspirants.

A family that lives among books

For the Gowda family, the library is more than a public institution; it is home.

Anke Gowda, his wife Vijayalakshmi, and their son Sagar continue to live within the library premises, surrounded by the very books that shaped their lives. Together, they help care for and preserve the collection, ensuring that visitors can freely access its wealth of knowledge.

Their story is a reminder that meaningful change does not always begin with wealth, influence, or grand plans. Sometimes, it starts with a child who knows what it feels like to go without a book.

Today, the boy who once travelled miles in search of reading material has created a space where learning is within reach for anyone who walks through its doors. 

And perhaps that is Anke Gowda’s greatest achievement — not the millions of books he collected, but the millions of possibilities they continue to open for others.

Source:
‘Once a bus conductor, now a Padma Awardee: Who is Anke Gowda, the man who built India’s largest free library with two-million-books’ by Economic Times, Published on 25 January 2026.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thebetterindia.com