Nothing truly ever compares to the joy of picking up a hardbound book, ceremoniously smelling the printed pages and resisting the urge to skip to the last page and ruining the ending. Reading a book is a journey unlike any other. Vasai resident, Pushpendra Pandya, is one such avid reader who prefers the company of his book collection to that of people. In a report by The New Indian Express, Pandya discusses the recent generation’s fascination with digital platforms for information consumption. “Kindles and other ebook formats are killing our age old book-reading experience and I genuinely feel that we need a place where some old-fashioned people like me and you, can sit and read a real book.” he said in an interview with Melville House Books. And in a world where even money has been digitised, here is a man who decided to sell most of his furniture to create space for his new crowdsourced library.
The library was started in November 2103, with the idea of keeping alive the book reading experience and it functions on the very simple idea of exchange. Anyone with a surplus of books would just have to call (or even tweet) Pandya, who would then travel to your doorstep to collect the books, given that the books are in good condition. Having started out with 1500 books in the first month, Pandya has collected over 10,000 books and travels across Mumbai either by the locals or on his cycle to transport the books, “There are some people who want to give one or few books, and then there others who give me 350 books at a time.” In an interview with DNA, he discusses how, in his experience with the library, a lot of the younger donors are more hesitant to part ways with their books in comparison to older individuals who are more willing to share their books, and time, freely.
Initially the library catered exclusively to members only, with the charges ranging from INR 250 to INR 1900 (depending on either monthly or yearly deals), where Pandya and his team used to be deliver the books on the weekends to people upon borrowing. But now he’s chosen to extend the services to anyone and everyone, with absolutely no charge. “We are now primarily helping to set up more libraries in Mumbai and in other cities. From private classes to the railways, we have approached as many places as possible to help create free access to books for the public. I want to be like an ATM or pan-chai tapri across various nukads in India.”
With an altruistic heart, the library aims to match each reader in search of a good read with the perfect author. But with the services expanding, Pandya does face problems in maintaining a concrete chain of communication amongst everyone involved in the project, “The number of libraries that are up and running will vary because as of now, I just help people set them up and spread the word about them. But we’ve received immense support for the past many years. The help is seasonal, however, making it a challenge to maintain coordination. Everyone has their priorities with work, their families, studies and that’s why their bit for the library is only done when they have time.”
Additionally, Pandya has spent quite a bit of money travelling across different parts of the city to collect the books from donors, after which members are free to create their own modules and operate independently. “We previously had an official website, but once the domain expired we’ve just been working from a Microsoft excel and word database.”
A library for the people and by the people, Pandya explains how the project allows him and all his team members to experience and incomparable joy, that of physically handing over a book to someone who’s been looking forward to reading it. The library is also in the works of opening branches in New Delhi, Coimbatore and Bangalore.
If you wish to extend your support to the project in anyway or become a member, you can contact Pandya at fillyy@gmail.com