Century-old Urdu knowledge centre atttracts scholars

Hyderabad: A nearly century-old Urdu knowledge centre, ‘Idara-e-Adabiyat’, is attracting scholars from across the country, for its collection of books and manuscripts. The centre, established in 1923, by Syed Mohiuddin Qadri Zore, who was a reformist, poet and writer. It is located on the Punjagutta road.

The institution is one of the oldest hubs for the promotion of the Urdu language. It houses about 50,000 books dating to pre-Independence era literature. Newspapers of the same era are also preserved and kept here apart from about 2,500 manuscripts. “Urdu and comparative literature scholars, historians and social scientists visit this place around the year. The monthly ‘Risala’, an Urdu magazine, is also brought out by the institution,” informs Professor, S.A. Shukhoor, secretary of the committee which runs the institution.

He explains us about a few literature and poetry books dating back to the 16th and 17th century. “At least four books stored in the institution have no other copies left. These rare books consist of both poetry and prose genres,” Mr Shukoor said.

The books were digitised with funds provided by a few private organisations and social organisations. But still, some more work is left to be done.

The committee comprises important personalities in the city including ‘Siasat’ editor, Mr Zahed Ali Khan among others. The intention is to keep one of the oldest Urdu language promotional hubs alive. “Funds are a problem, as it’s a pre-independence institution. When it comes to manuscripts and volumes, several rare books are stocked here. Yet we face problems in garnering funds for running this institution,” feels Mr Shukhoor.

He adds that research scholars from various institutions including Maula Azad National Urdu University, University of Hyderabad and English and Foreign Languages University have been accessing Idara’s collection.