Trio brings Harry Potter to Bandra

MUMBAI: Three friends stand around a table covering brand new
Asterix comic books with plastic. In the backdrop, a woman stands, wearing an
apron, and painting a giraffe on the wall. The room smells of fresh paint and
new collections of Amar Chitra Katha, Famous Five, Malory Towers, Harry Potter
and Lord of the Rings line the walls. Yellow lamps hang from the ceiling, and
colourful stools and mattresses wear an inviting look. The ground floor space
that has been converted into a public library at Bandra's D'Monte Park Road is getting ready to
lure children into cultivating the habit of reading.

The ground floor of Princess building had been reserved by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for a public
library and was given out on a 30-year lease to the Maharashtra Mitra Mandal in
2003. However, the library was not alive and kicking. One day, 47-year-old
French teacher Vibha Kamat, who lives in the vicinity, saw the library board
and entered. "It had always been my dream to open a library. I had been
looking around the area for space: I checked garages, bungalows, but didn't get
anything. I used to see this place every time I passed by, so I decided to inquire,"
she said. At the time, there was only a shelf half-filled with books. Soon, she
and two of her friends got together and decided to help revamp the library.

In June, the trio signed an agreement with the mandal and the movement started.
"It was through word of mouth and emails that we garnered support. In less
than three months, we got over 2,000 books as donations from people," said
resident Vaishali Shinde.

Sonal Bimal said three of them were mothers of schoolchildren and shared the
passion. "We believe that a library will help children come together and
engage in meaningful activity," she said.
To that end, they have decided to make the space a platform for
children to stimulate the intellect. Not only will child authors be invited for
talks, but a kids' magazine will be launched. It will publish everything
written by children. There will also be book and film clubs where children will
be taken on a journey through the world of literature and cinema.

"So far, we have used the word of mouth. We have told neighbouring schools
about it. We will start distributing leaflets," said Shyam Karmarkar,
mandal general secretary.

Source | Times of
India | 15 September 2011