Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh School of Drama (MPSD) has decided to start a public library-cum- reading room on its premises.
The library will remain open on the second and the third Saturdays of every month from 10 am to 5 pm. Artists, students and research scholars as well as people interested in books on theatre and scripts of plays will be able to visit the library. However, the books will not be issued for taking home. The school has a collection of around 5,000 books on theatre including collections of plays, stories and poems besides novels, magazines and reference books.
As per the authorities, the library is likely to be functional once the COVID pandemic comes to a hault.
Director of MPSD Alok Chatterjee told Free Press that there is no place in Bhopal from where one can buy scripts of plays. Books on theatre, collections and scripts of plays are available in the Bharat Bhawan library which opens from 2 pm to 8 pm. “So, we have decided to open the school’s library for all from 10 am to 5pm on second and third Saturdays,” he said.
Theatre artists from across the country can visit the library, read books and make notes from them. “But they won’t be allowed to get books or any other materials issued by their names. If needed, they can get photocopies made,” Alok said. In Bhopal, finding scripts and reference books on theatre is a difficult job. The library will help to fill this gap, the director added.
MP School of drama is also preparing a database on its alumni, which will include their names, contact numbers, photographs, email IDs and permanent postal addresses of the alumni. The director of the school, Alok Chatterjee said the institution is going to complete 10 years in 2021 and it should have a directory of its alumni so that the students can contact them, if needed. It would not only be beneficial for the students but also for the alumni. “The data base would be useful for professional directors who want to work with the old students of the school,” Alok said. The database would be ready by the end of this month.
