The USIS or United States Information Service had a huge library and was one of the haunts of college students like me. It was situated on S N Banerjee Road and in the vicinity of most of the cinema halls that showed English movies. Its library was not just huge but had books of every conceivable subject and also a library of LP records – the 45rpm and 33 1/3 rpm ones.
And, one section was devoted to newspapers and magazines. The complete area was air-conditioned and a uniformed man stood at the entrance – he has a counter in his hand, his duty was to keep recording the number of people who entered every minute of the day.
The USIS opened its doors at 9am and closed at 5pm – and from the moment it opened its doors till it shut them, people used to keep coming and going. Some of them were serious readers, others came in to relax in the cool atmosphere while another set used the USIS as a meeting place – especially young boys and girls.
But, the elders really loved every moment. Most of them appeared to be retired men and they would enter, make their leisurely to the newspaper section, pick up a copy on the New York Times and plop down on the thick plushy sofa sets. Soon, if one went near them, they could hear the light sounds of snoring. (to be continued …)
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