the first DASTOOR MEHERJIRANA LIBRARY, NAVSARI

Posted on: November 12th, 2019 by wp-indigo

The First Dastoor Meherjirana Library was established in the town of Navsari, Gujarat, in the year 1872 CE, as the second Parsi library in India to be open to public and has been continuously serving the scholarly community since last 147 Years.

Navsariwala Seth Burjor Bumanji Padam, a Parsi philanthropist based in Mumbai, commissioned the building to be built on his own land in the Lakkad Falia of Navsari. It is a home to numerous manuscripts written in Avestan, Pahlavi, Pazand, Persian, Sanskrit, Urdu & Gujarati Languages.

Since its inception, the library has served various local communities of Navsari and is continuously visited by international scholars interested in Zoroastrianism.

The Library complex consists of three parts. The Old Building, dedicated to the memory of Maneckbhai Maneckji Jamshedji Dastoor Meherjirana, is two stories tall and contains most of the library’s printed books and periodicals, as well as reading tables for general public.

An Annexe to this building was built in the honour of Seth Hormasji Framji Kolah in 1966, housing additional books, as well as the head librarian’s office, where a microfilm reader and microfilms of almost all the manuscripts are kept.

A new four storey building has been constructed adjoining the library and is fully equipped with a conservation laboratory, some other public resource areas and residential accommodation for visiting scholars.

This document is a part of a measured drawing and condition survey report prepared to assess the physical state of The First Dastoor Meherjirana Library-Navsari. The study was aimed to provide technical analysis and condition details to carry out any remedial or preventive maintenance or repairs in the future.