Goan in Belagavi wills 4,5000 books to South Goa library

PANAJI: The South Goa district library in Navelim found its shelves filled up overnight after Shankar Chaphadkar, a Goan settled in Belagavi, Karnataka, left it 4,500 books from his personal collection following his demise.
“Chaphadkar’s collection covers a wide range of topics. He held a unique collection of books on defence, sociology, economy, history, etc. His effort at building his personal library is so diverse that it is difficult to find a collection in Goa to match its standards.What is interesting to note that he has left bookmarks in every book on pages that have subjects of interest,” said librarian Mohandas Naik.

Naik further said that although two other libraries from Belagavi and one in Kolhapur had requested for his collection, it was donated to the South Goa district library instead.

Owing to his military background — he had worked in the Border Security Force — Chaphadkar had travelled and lived in various parts of India. Following his retirement, he chose to settle down in Goodshed road, Belagavi. His cousin, Vaijayanti Garge, said that it was only after his retirement that he began collecting books and managed to build a personal library.

Chaphadkar died in July 2017 at the age of 78 years after suffering a cardiac arrest. Following his death, his family in Goa travelled to Belagavi and brought his books to Goa to be donated to the library.