Industrialist Anand Mahindra is an active X (formerly Twitter) user who often reposts interesting things from around the world that catch his attention. Recently, he was struck by the beauty of a particular place in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, and shared it with his followers. The "magnificent structure" that impressed Mahindra is the iconic Rampur Raza Library, which is over 250 years old.
Mahindra reposted a tweet by historian Sam Dalrymple, who shared a picture of the building and called it "the prettiest library in India". Dalrymple wrote, "Rampur library is probably the best preserved early modern library in the country: home to around 30,000 rare manuscripts in Pashto, Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, and even Tamil."
Reposting on his X handle, Mahindra wrote, "That is a magnificent structure. I had absolutely no idea of its existence. I'm embarrassed. By itself, it makes Rampur a must-see destination."
According to the Indian Culture website by the Government of India, the Rampur Raza Library is one of the important libraries of South Asia. It is a treasure house of Indo-Islamic learning and arts.
This library was founded by Nawab Faizullah Khan in 1774. The Nawabs of Rampur were great patrons of learning and the learned ulema (Muslim scholars), poets, painters, calligraphers and musicians enjoyed their patronage.
Also Read: Slide Your Way To Boarding Gate - Singapore's Changi Airport Catches Anand Mahindra's Attention
This library has 17,000 manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi and Turkish. It also possesses a good collection of paintings and palm-leaf manuscripts in various Indian languages. A collection of around 60,000 printed books in Indian and foreign languages is also available.
This beautiful library is sheltered in the Hamid Manzil, a European Mughal architectural marvel with an Italian sculpture gallery and canopied ceilings.
Have you ever visited the Rampur Raza Library? Share your experience in the comments section.
