One fridge. 500 books. How a Kolkata teacher built a street library with a simple thought, ‘Reading should belong to every child.’
An English teacher in Kolkata, Kalidas Haldar, and his wife established a unique street library in 2021, utilizing a repurposed refrigerator and a small shop to house over 1000 books. This initiative aims to encourage reading among children and the community, offering books for free borrowing and fostering a book-loving environment.
It is not often that you find a refrigerator in the middle of the street, loaded with a variety of books. But one English teacher from Kolkata not only made it possible but has now turned the entire set-up into a full-sledged library, featuring more than 1000 books. The noble initiative was started by Kalidas Haldar, an English teacher and his wife Kumkum Haldar in 2021. The shop, completely free of cost, is located in South Kolkata's Satyajit Ray Park in Patuli township, adjacent to the gate of Dinabandhu Andrews Institute of Technology and Management.
As per a report by The Indian Express, the double-door fridge houses plenty of books ranging from novels, dictionaries, short stories, and literary magazines, to name a few, in both English and Bengali languages. More can be found inside the small shop, made with aluminium sheets. Readers can simply borrow a book by registering their names, contact details and date of issue in the diary kept on each rack.
The idea to start a street library came after the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools, colleges and universities were shut down and pupils were locked inside their homes all day, glued to their screens, be it for work or leisurely purposes. Kalidas and his wife wanted to contribute something meaningful to society for the children. 'Children these days spend far too much time hooked to mobile phones and it's important for them to read and open the window of their minds,' Kalidas had shared in a conversation with The Indian Express.
The stepping stones to the establishment were approaching the grocery shop owner, Tarapad Kanhar. Since the shop was near a college, park and main bazaar, Kalidas believed that most people in the locality would cross it daily, so it was the perfect place to get everyone's attention. He was on the lookout for an area that would not consume much space but keep the books safe in all weather conditions. And that's how the street library came into existence.
Kalidas launched his open book stall on International Mother Language Day in 2021 with several volunteers, neighbours, donors and even actors like Sabyasachi Chakraborty stepping in to contribute. The rules to avail a book are simple. All you have to do is take one book home by putting your details, take good care of it and return it after a month. Readers are also encouraged to contribute to the library and 'create a book-loving community'.
Initially, Kalidas Haldar donated most of his English books and spent nearly Rs 45,000 to purchase a big collection of Bengali books and build some racks to store them. But he thanked his family for the support and readers for spreading information about the street library. As per a report by The Better India, the Patuli Street Library (PSL) now operates mobile libraries visiting slums and weekly bicycle libraries near schools. It also runs reading circles, storytelling sessions, theatre workshops and study sessions for children.
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