Reading democratized

 

Two college students Heet Doshi and Om Thakkar have set up three free libraries in Gujarat. Surprisingly, these tiny book boxes do not need any surveillance.

“Om and I have always liked reading and we are also part of a book club,” said the 19-year-old B. Com student Heet Doshi. “We found inspiration in Kerela’s library concept. There, one gets to spot a free library every 300-500 meters. People pick up a book and leave another, which is why Kerala is also called the book village of India. When I learnt about the free library concept in Kerala, I felt an urge to replicate the idea for Ahmadabad,” shares Heet recollecting the origin of the box library.

The duo started with some 25 books for the first library. “People generously donated, with most of the books having come from the readers’ club. The library follows the same principle that of Kerala’s libraries,” Heet explains. With some 50 books at the moment (as of Dec 1st week), the college students have installed three free libraries in Ahmadabad, with the first library having inaugurated in June 2024. All the libraries are set in popular gardens of the city.

Were there not challenges in setting up the libraries? “There were, multiple of them,” states Heet. “Getting the box definitely was a tall task, actually more problematic than collecting the books was. People were skeptical and did not come forward to help us. When we wanted the first wooden box to be modelled, we had to scout hard for a good fabricator. We found one, and then the next challenge emerged – of how to raise funds for the box. A certain book lover, who wishes to keep his name confidential, financed the expenses of the box. All that took a while, but after the first library was inaugurated the word spread across and the process henceforth has become easy. People, from across the city, who love reading approach us to donate for other libraries.”

Fondly reminiscing the past, Heet narrates an anecdote, “A friend of mine had a grandmother who loved reading. However, she could not read because she was an illiterate. My friend Parth used to read out to her. After he lost her grandmother, he offered to pay for the third box saying - My grandmother could not read, but it will nice if I could do my bit for others to derive the pleasure of reading. The box has an inscription of Parth’s grandmother’s name on it.

Is security of the books inside the box not a concern? “Surprisingly, not. When we installed the first box, we did have this fear in the mind. A lot of people around us warned us against the idea of having an unguarded library, saying it was not a sustainable initiative at multiple levels. But Om and I had only one line running on our minds, which was “hum haar nahi maanege…” And our unwavering desire to set up the box reaped rewards,” shares Heet.

“To our pleasant surprise the box always has books. I am sure some people who take a book home do not place it back. But then the number of books donated exceeds the number of books not returned. Speaking about those who do not return the books, I assume they do not intend to steal them. It’s just that they want to keep some books with them,” Heet adds.

Throwing light on the genres of books that the box contains, Heet says, “There are books of two languages – English and Gujarati. Most of the titles are for readers who have begun reading. Genres including self-help, non-fiction stories, etc are available in the boxes.” Any famous title that the box includes? “I don’t want to name only one book. All the books of all three libraries are significant. It is improper to name one book as the famous one while not mention all other books. Say at the moment, one library includes some 50 books. It is unfair to single out one from the lot of 50.”

With plans of installing more libraries in government schools and colleges, the two students certainly are making reading democratized.