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Although we at Homegrown are quick to criticise our Government, we are equally ready to praise their efforts when they do something as great as creating a book village in Maharashtra. More so, when a village with the population of 5,000 hosts a diverse collection of 15,000 books! The Bhilar village, close to Mahabaleshwar and around five hours from Mumbai, has now been aptly named ‘Pustakanche Gaav’ (Village of Books)—finally giving Maharashtra the ability to compete with states like Kerala and Karnataka, famed for promoting a holistic reading culture.
This is far from some half-assed operation. There are 25 specific locations that host a unique literary theme, making this village a living book crawl. These cathartic cottages, temples, schools and homestays that cater to book lovers even sport murals pertaining to specific genres, making this village a virtual paradise for artists and photographers.
The philosophy and structure of this book village is loosely based on ‘Hay on Wye’ a Welsh town that as a community strives to provide a wholesome community of those who cherish books. The obvious difference between the two is that Pustakanche Gaav offers a stellar collection of Marathi literature, which is currently one of the most underrated and spectacular genres of Indian literature. Although there is a nominal fee to check out books, this is due to the fact the village needs funding to prevent damage to books during heavy rains, as many of the locations openly shelve books.
This village is the perfect getaway for the reclusive reader who feels at home surrounded by a bevy of books. Oh, and the cherry on top is in fact, a strawberry! This paperback paradise is also a notorious producer of some of the best strawberries in India.
If you aren’t making plans as yet, we’re highly disappointed. (P.S. we’d pack a jar of Nutella or two, to pair with those delicious berries. There are only a few things better than snacking while on a book binge.)
Feature Image Credit—Twitter
