According to legend (the Librarian) at some point during World War II, the fear that the war would reach the shores of India spread amongst the residents of Kolkata. Thus in an attempt  to safeguard their valuables the Birlas, sent the vast collections of books that they had acquired over the years to Pilani, far away from British influence and consequently the war. These books are now displayed in an air conditioned room called the Rare Books sections at the far end of the BITS Pilani Library.

The Section contains nearly five thousand books, covering a wide range of subjects from philosophy to iconography and even a book on Gentoo Laws (the Ordinations of Pundits translated from Sanskrit to Persian, and then to English). The collection also includes some peculiar books like Ramayana in China. Amongst the vast collection of books, here are a few that stand out from the rest:

Pancha Vimshati Sahasrika Prajnaporamita: This is an ancient manuscript written in the now extinct Bhog language. The text is written on wood, and is also accompanied by illustrations. The meaning of the text remains un-deciphered to this day.  

Paintings from the collection of Dr. Sukarno: Dr. Sukarno was the leader of Indonesia’s independence movement and first president of the country, serving from 1945 to 1967. The book contains a lot of several beautiful and graphic illustrations. The abundance of erotic content should come as no surprise to those familiar with Dr. Sukarno’s colourful life.

Copy of the Constitution of India: One of the original copies of the Constitution. A copy as rare as it is valuable.  

Mohenjo Daro and the Indus civilization and Further excavations at Mohenjo Daro: Combined, these two books give a full account of the findings of the archeological excavations conducted by the Government of India in the Indus valley region. It also contains photographs of the artifacts uncovered during the process.

Most of the books in this section are nearly a century old, and some are even two hundred years old, and are thus not in a good condition. Moreover, the harsh weather in Pilani is hastening the deterioration of these books. To counter this, the library has begun a preservation and restoration process. The process began in August 2017 when they built a new air conditioned room for the section. The walls of this new room are made insulating material, ensuring that humidity and heat does not deteriorate the books further. Particularly vulnerable books have been unbound, individual pages  attached to a protective paper, and then re-bound again. A three day training program was also conducted to teach the library staff about the various restoration processes for rare books.

Any curious student can book an appointment, via the library website, to access the Rare Books section. They will then be allowed into the room under the supervision of a library staff, and can then explore these remarkable books themselves.