There is a reason why nobody is allowed in the restricted section of the Bombay Natural History Society library at Hornbill House. The fire-proof vault there is rarely opened, and only for a few members. “The books here are priceless,” explains Dr Ashok Kothari, chairman of the library. “To protect them from termites, the bitterest neem leaves are ordered from Deesa, Gujarat.”
Stacked in cabinets are rare books, some over 200 years old, mostly written by Europeans who visited India. Gingerly, Kothari pulls out a copy from the vault — Plantae Asiatic Rariores by Nathaniel Wallich written in the 19th century. The colours of the book are intact but the pages have started falling part.
But now you can get a peek into the contents of this vault without going to the back of the library. Kothari and Boman Chappgar, veteran members, have compiled a coffee table book with paintings and excerpts from the collection. “We wanted to give common people access to these books,” says Kothari.
Most of the books were donated to BNHS in 1925 by the owner of a departmental store, Evans and Fraser that was located at Fort before independence. As for the rest, it has taken Kothari three decades of travelling through Kolkata’s crowded streets, rummaging through London’s oldest book stores and bargaining with Mumbai’s second-hand book dealers to find these treasures. Some of them are also safely kept under lock and key at his clinic in Khar.
“Four thousand copies of the book have been published and the profits will go to the library fund. We hope that it will encourage people to value and preserve the remaining wildlife,” says Kothari.
