A Reader’s Tryst

 

A Reader’s Tryst

With the Omicron surge, we are again locked up in our homes. How to spend 24 hours within the four walls of the house? I don’t know about you but I devour every single book that I can find in the house. I have a reason. It’s not just that the chilly January air is transforming me into an indoor cat but, reading gives me respite from the humdrum of chores and classes.

Here I am sharing pictures of 2 libraries. This dreamy old library is featured in The New York Times article and got me thinking- why do libraries appeal to so many people? I am sure you will like the other picture equally because it features absorbed readers! 

Dr. Macksey's home library

Ramdootnagar(Jamnagar district, Gujarat) community library

All of us are fortunate to have books (which sometimes we don’t bother to complete) in our homes. Even if you can’t get a hard copy, Kindle is at your service. If you are a freebie like me, you can just download free PDFs from sites you don't trust.  You’re reading this blog right now and probably wondering why I am pointing that out. We read every day- be it the e-newspaper or texts from friends. I want you to imagine when you would have nothing to read. No books, no internet, nothing.

Right outside the golden bubble of our township, the children of the school in the slum don’t have any books to read, except the course books. Their parents struggle to make the ends meet. However, watching their parents’ hardship, the kids are determined to learn.

“The kids are like sponges…ready to absorb every drop of knowledge!” my mother remarked. We decided to start a library and I recall, during our first visit, the children thronged around the books collected in the donation drive. As they were skimming through the pages, their faces glowed, owing to the vibrancy of any picture book. The elder ones of the group took on the responsibility of running an evening library.

Belonging to the advantaged strata of this society, it is our utmost responsibility to give back. I am determined to keep starting libraries all my life...wherever I go, whichever profession I may choose, I will keep doing my bit. And you would too, right? Amid the pandemic, it has been the tenacious spirit of volunteers that has kept the library running. And how can I forget the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed readers who turn up every single day! The dappled sunlight is the natural light bulb and the asbestos shelter- a reader’s tryst!