Finally, good days ahead for central film library, Ajmer

JAIPUR: It's a treasure trove. From field marshal Sam Manekshaw speaking to soldiers on their return to Delhi after defeating Pakistani forces in war to the first test match between India and England captured live on camera to a rare heart surgery ­ all events are recorded in reels here.
Many historical events in independent India from 1952 to 1989, including the release of prisoners of 1971Bangladesh war on Wagah border with a token gift, lie trapped in 4,243 reels here.We are talking about the Central Film Library in Ajmer. However, the building that houses this library is in a dilapidated condition, with PWD declaring it unsafe in 2007.
Earlier, there were six such centres, but now only two are existing ­ one in Ajmer and another one in Pune.
The film library in Ajmer recently got a shot in the arm after chief minister Vasundhara Raje announced Rs 2 crore grant in her Budget speech for digitalisation of the library .
After the budgetary allocation was made, the Ajmer district administration had swung into action. The officials have finalised a hall in a heritage building in the city where the library would be shifted.
“The PWD has been asked to prepare an estimate for upgrading the old heritage building which was used as assembly building in then Merwara state. The building will be converted into an air-conditioned complex where digital film rolls would be preserved for generations to come. Once we get the estimate, work will begin,“ said Dr Arushi Malik, district collector, Ajmer.
While scouring the dusty stacks of reels, one suddenly comes across a record of an international conference of bald men held in New Delhi in 1962. The shiny pates can be seen on film discussing the great feats of men with no hair. That event culminated with an award ceremony in which two participants were conferred `Moonshine' and `Sunshine' awards for their shiny pates. It is not hard to see that this comes from a time when baldness was not quite trendy .
Among the collections at the library are also full-length Bollywood classics like Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Mughal-E-Azam (1960) and Chaudhvin Ka Chand (also 1960).
There are reels of Aakrosh (1980) featuring Om Puri, and Amitabh Bachchan blockbuster Sharaabi (1984).
Perhaps not surprisingly , there are no reels from the Emergency era (1975-77) in this collection.
Poor maintenance since 1990 took toll on this library . By 1989, VCRs and video cassettes were commonly available, making film reels obsolete. This library once boasted of 40 employees and nine vans (sponsored by Unicef), but now it has staff of only four.
The library faced gross neglect after it came under the aegis of the state education department in 1991. Its purpose was then restricted to showcasing educational content under the Literacy Mission in rural areas.