On Sunday, 25 January 2026, the Government of India conferred the prestigious Padma Shri upon 75-year-old Anke Gowda under the “Unsung Heroes” category.
A former bus conductor from Haralahalli village in Karnataka’s Mandya district, Gowda has spent over 50 years single-handedly building “Pustaka Mane” (House of Books), one of India’s largest free-access libraries.
Housing over 20 lakh books in 20 languages, including rare manuscripts from 1832, the library was built entirely through Gowda’s personal sacrifices, including selling his home and investing 80 per cent of his lifetime earnings.
The recognition highlights his extraordinary commitment to democratising knowledge, making rare literary and academic resources freely available to students, researchers, and even members of the judiciary without any institutional funding.
Who is Anke Gowda?
Anke Gowda’s journey into the world of books began during his tenure as a bus conductor, inspired by the words of his college professor, K. Anantharamu, who encouraged him to develop a meaningful hobby.
What started with small purchases grew into an obsession that spanned his three-decade career as a timekeeper at a sugar factory. To accommodate the expanding collection, Gowda famously sold his only residential site in Mysuru for 6 lakh rupees, reinvesting every paisa back into books.
Today, he and his wife, Vijayalakshmi, live a life of extreme simplicity inside the library premises, sleeping on the floor and cooking in a small corner to ensure that every available square inch is dedicated to the preservation of literature and history.
Pustaka Mane in Karnataka
The sheer scale of Pustaka Mane is staggering, featuring a diverse collection that includes 5 lakh rare foreign publications and 5,000 multilingual dictionaries. The library preserves 2,500 titles on Mahatma Gandhi, 2,500 on the Bhagavad Gita, and numerous sacred texts including the Bible and the Quran.
Recognised by the Limca Book of Records, the institution has become a critical hub for research scholars and civil service aspirants who travel from across India to access its unique archives.
Mandya Deputy Commissioner Kumara expressed immense pride in the recognition, noting that Gowda’s self-funded mission has placed Haralahalli on the global map of scholarship. Despite the fame, Gowda remains humble, telling reporters, “My only goal has always been to make information accessible to everyone.”
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
At The Logical Indian, we believe that Anke Gowda’s life is a profound reminder that true wealth is found not in what we hoard, but in what we share. In a world where education is often treated as a commodity, his “House of Books” stands as a temple of selfless service and intellectual empathy.
By choosing to live amongst his books rather than in a comfortable home, he has proven that one individual’s passion can bridge the gap between poverty and knowledge.
His story is a call to action for all of us to value our heritage and support those who protect it. We salute this “Bookman of Mandya” for showing us that kindness and curiosity are the strongest foundations for any nation.
