More than books on the shelf
The essential idea of the library is to take a book and either return it, or replace it.
The common lament of book lovers from across the world is the same in this digital age — not as many people read books anymore. The simple pleasure of opening a book, feeling the texture of a page has been lost in the world of kindles and computers. However, there are those who are trying to revive the habit of picking up a book and simultaneously getting books into the hands of those who would otherwise not have been able to afford them.
These aren’t your regular libraries that require you to register and look through intimidating stack upon stack of books to decide what you want to read, but rather free exchanges taking place across town.
The newest addition to these exchange libraries is about to make its presence felt in the city by the end of the month, promises Gaurav Gupta, one of the curators of the project. “We are doing this in collaboration with Mission Josh and the Mumbai Police. We are painting walls all around the city, some of which have alphabets and numbers, so that less privileged kids can learn. What we are also doing as part of the project is setting up ‘free’ walls across the city, wherein people will donate items that they want, especially books,” says Gaurav from City as a Canvas, adding that the wall has been painted, and the bookshelves and hooks for other items only need to be set up. “We will get to it before the end of the month. We’ll also leave instruction manuals so that people know how to donate whatever they want to,” he explains.
Mansi from Mission Josh explains further, “These walls are happiness walls. Kids could pick up books or even clothes and other items that are donated. College students could teach kids in front of the walls, using books kept there — there are so many possibilities!”
Clever though it may be, the walls of books, which will be set up in Kandivali, Churchgate and Dadar among other places have a precedent — The Little Free Library. A part of a worldwide movement, the initiative was taken up by television actor Rohit Roy’s daughter Kiara Bose Roy.
With the help of her family, she set up a birdhouse-like structure on a footpath in Pali Hill, Bandra, filled with books. The essential idea of the library is to take a book and either return it, or replace it.
Like the Little Free Library, another international initiative, which was taken up by a Mumbaikar is the Book Fairy project, of which Hollywood actress Emma Watson is an icon. Kadambari Mehta, who pioneered the project in Mumbai recalls the very first book she dropped off at a random location for a reader to find and keep. “The first book I dropped was The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel in Mani Bhavan”, recalls the book-fairy, who has been joined by nine other Mumbaikars since. “We now have themed lending drives. For instance, over the first weekend of October, we dropped off books on crime fiction. With Children’s Day coming up, we will probably do something around that as well,” she adds.
A completely homegrown crowdsourced library also has its place in the city, managed single-handedly by Pushpendra Pandya. To borrow a book, one simply has to drop in a request on Facebook and have Pushpendra hand deliver it to their doorstep. “I started reading when I discovered second-hand bookstores and kabadiwalas, and it filled me with a sense of fulfilment. I wanted to give that sense of fulfilment to others,” he smiles.