181-year-old People's Free Reading Room revived
- The 181-year-old People's Free Reading Room and Library has been renovated and now thrives as a study hall. - It houses rarities like the Shahnama and Punch comics, and is managed by trustees led by Jerry Pinto. - Funds raised during the pandemic helped renovations, boosting preservation of Marathi and Gujarati literary heritage. (indianexpress.com)
Mumbai’s People’s Free Reading Room and Library, founded in 1845, has reopened after renovation and now fills daily with students using it as a study hall. (indianexpress.com) The library sits in Dhobi Talao in South Mumbai, where long wooden tables are now occupied by readers with textbooks and laptops rather than by people consulting the shelves. Librarian Gulshan Cooper told The Indian Express that most visitors come to study quietly and bring their own material. (indianexpress.com) Its holdings include rare editions of the *Shahnama* in Persian and French, illustrated runs of *Punch*, and older Marathi and Gujarati volumes that trustees say are increasingly hard to preserve elsewhere. Writer Jerry Pinto serves as chairman of the board of trustees. (indianexpress.com) (mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com) The repair work followed a funding crisis that became public during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the library appealed for donations to stay afloat. India Today reported in December 2021 that the institution was facing a severe cash crunch and had turned to the public for help. (indiatoday.in) That campaign helped trigger a broader effort to restore the building and stabilize the collection. Mumbai Mirror reported in late 2025 that the trust had also been informed of a Rs 35 lakh bequest from Harshaben Parekh, the longtime librarian of Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University. (mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com) The reading room has been part of Mumbai’s public culture for generations, but its shelves had also become a record of neglect: dust, brittle paper, and books rarely touched. Earlier reporting and photo projects documented the same cupboards and magazines sitting largely unchanged for years. (hindustantimes.com) (thehindu.com) Pinto has been connected to the institution for years; Hindustan Times reported that he became a trustee in 2015, and later coverage described him pushing for ways to bring people back into the space. The revival has not turned the room into a museum so much as kept it in everyday use. (hindustantimes.com) (mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com) In Dhobi Talao, that means a 19th-century library now survives by serving a 21st-century need: a quiet desk, a working fan, and a place to read in the middle of the city. (indianexpress.com)
