Waiting for a bus may not be boring any longer in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.
Once at a bus stand, waiting for a public carrier that somehow takes inordinately long to turn up and pick you up, one now has company in the shape of books.
Across the district, some 267 bus stops now have an interesting addition in the shape of a tidy ‘nest’ on one of the walls.
But the nests aren’t the ones meant to house birds or their hatchlings. Instead, they house books that commuters are free to leaf through and also borrow.
Reading people like a book
Part of a novel initiative – Pustaka Goodu – undertaken by the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, the little book ‘nests’ aim to wean away the people from wasting too much time on their smartphones.
“It would be so much better if they gain some knowledge instead,” pointed out Dr Kumar, the chief executive officer of the panchayat.
A bookworm himself, Kumar had to walk miles during his growing up years to visit libraries to lay his hands on books.
Now that he is in some position of influence, he has made it his mission to make books more accessible to the general public.
“I wanted people to utilise the waiting period in bus stands to the maximum extent,” he explained. “I want everyone to have access to books around where they live”.
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The project began in 2021 with books being provided at 17 gram panchayat bus stands.
One and a half years later, the initiative has expanded to 267 bus stops. A total of around 45,000 books are now kept in the little ‘nests’. Some 90 percent of the books were donated by individuals. The rest came from libraries and local businesses who donated.
Local youth associations have also chipped in, and each gram panchayat is entrusted with the responsibility of collecting and then taking care of the books.
There’s a book for everyone
The collection of books – in English and Kannada – is varied and rich. Esoteric ones are there too. At a bus stop in a university town Ujire near Dharmasthala, an introductory text on Dr BR Ambedkar shared space on the shelf with books on spiritualism.
Depending on one’s choice, commuters can pick up a book to read while waiting for the bus. If the bus has arrived and you haven’t finished reading, you can take the book home and return it later.
No one is normally guarding the books at the bus stops and the initiative to popularise the habit of reading books is run on trust.
What if someone steals the books?
Well, Kumar doesn’t mind that. “If a person is stealing books, then instead of reprimanding, he or she should be encouraged,” he retorted instantly. For him, a book thief is a true bibliophile.
But not everyone seemed to be on the same page with Kumar.
In Ujire, the book ‘nest’ at the bus stop was found to be locked. “I have to open it every now and then. The panchayat people should fix this,” pointed out a frustrated transport staff.
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In the small village of Arasinamakki near Belthangady, the ‘nest was open, but a nearby sign prominently proclaimed that commuters were under CCTV surveillance.
Kumar, however, is undeterred. He wants the ‘nests’ to eventually evolve into information centres where booklets about every government scheme should be available.
These booklets should act as guides and provide practical information like eligibility, benefits, beneficiaries and application process in detail.
That’s for the future though, if at all.
For the moment, books are helping commuters beat their boredom and that by itself is a fascinating story.
The lead image at the top shows commuters in Dakshina Kannada reading and even borrowing books at 267 bus stops across the district (Photo by Amulya B)
Amulya B is a multimedia journalist, writer and translator based in Bengaluru. Her stories explore the intersection of culture, society and technology. She is the winner of Toto Funds the Arts for creative writing and Laadli Award. She is a Rural Media Fellow 2022 at Youth Hub, Village Square.
