During colonial times, when Hubballi was emerging as a centre of trade, art, music and literature, a group of visionary young members of Citrapur Saraswat community chose to settle down in the city around 1873. Their coming together in Hubballi was the starting point of an institution, which has now completed 125 years of its establishment.
In 1897, Raghavendra Subbarao Nagarkar, a ‘Mamlatdar’ at Saundatti in Belagavi district then, passed away leaving behind a good collection of Theosophical books. His cousin Manjunathrao Ullal, who got them as legacy, donated the same to this group leading to the birth of ‘Nagarkar Library’.
Over the years members of the community kept donating books adding to the collection and the institution, not restricting itself, emerged as a cultural centre providing space for art forms, music as well as sports. What initially started as a forum of Chitrapur Saraswats widened its scope later embracing everyone with interests in art, literature, music and sports.
