M. J. Library or Sheth Maneklal Jethabhai Pustakalaya is a public library in Ellisbridge,

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

History

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

proposed to construct a public library by the collection of books he had at

Sabarmati Ashram Sabarmati Ashram is located in the Sabarmati suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, adjoining the Ashram Road, on the banks of the River Sabarmati, from the town hall. This was one of the many residences of Mahatma Gandhi who lived at Sabarmati (Gujar ...

. Gandhi donated approx 7,000-15,000 books to start this library. It was named after Maneklal Jethabhai; father of Rasiklal Maneklal, who donated to construct this library. It was inaugurated by

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

on 15 April 1938.

Architecture

The architectural design of library was done by

Claude Batley Claude Batley F.R.I.B.A., F.I.A.A., (17 October 1879 in Ipswich – 20 March 1956, Bombay) was an English architect who as practitioner, teacher and President of the Indian Institute of Architects from 1921 to 1923, played an influential ro ...

. It is built in Rajputana Colonial architecture style. The entrance area is octagonal space with a dome on top of it. The building is ornamented with ''

chhajja A ''chhajja'' is an overhanging eave or roof covering found in Indian architecture. It is characterised with large support brackets with different artistic designs. Variation is also seen in its size depending on the importance of the building on ...

''s, brackets and ''

jali A ''jali'' or ''jaali'' (''jālī'', meaning "net") is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy, geometry or natural patterns. This form of architectu ...

''s which Batley considered "practical climatic essentials" and rooted in the traditional Indian architecture.

References

External links

Digital Collection of M. J. Library
at

Gandhi Heritage Portal The online Gandhi Heritage Portal preserves, protects, and disseminates original writings of Mohandas K. Gandhi and makes available to the world the large corpus of "Fundamental Works" which are useful for any comprehensive study of the life a ...

Library buildings completed in 1938 1938 establishments in India Buildings and structures in Ahmedabad British colonial architecture in India Libraries in Gujarat 20th-century architecture in India Libraries established in 1938 {{Library-stub

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links