Hyderabad, no excuses anymore

 

The Coforge Free Library houses 15,000 books for all and sundry

 

The freelibrary established by IT and digital giant Coforge on the eighth floor of Pranava Business Park in Kothaguda, Hyderabad, includes some 15,000 books of various genres, including both self- help and fiction books. “I visit the library to read the books and also sometimes borrow them. I am so glad that my neighbourhood has an accessible reading paradise,” says Kamini Mehta, an IT professional. “Reading books is a great way to unwind during the weekends since I live alone,” she adds.

Operational between 9 am and 8 pm, ‘The Coforge Public Library’ covers 15,660 sq ft, with digitised cataloguing and management of the books. There is a spacious and colorful seating area beside the rack of books for readers to satiate their thirst for reading. “I found Charles Bukowski’s writings, which was inspirational. It’s nice to drop in whenever I want and read without having to pay,” says Karan Veer who is a regular to the library; so are his kids. “My kids are beginning to read. The idea of bringing them to a space full of books is pleasing. They may not be ready to read the books now, but are getting acclimatized to the atmosphere and the vibe of reading.”

This is the third branch of the Coforge CSR initiative, with the first two in Noida and Gurugram. “Corporates could take inspiration from Coforge and dedicate a section of the space in offices to books. In my last job, there were several board games in the lounge like carom, foosball, etc. It was nice to play along everybody but then those were also the people I worked with. Reading would be an independent activity. It would serve as a great recreational activity. Besides expanding the mind. Books could teach them to empathize and also imagine, which is needed even in the tech sector,” reasons Peter Matthew, an IT employee from Secunderabad.