Just like with any other start-up, being the sole founder of Let’s Open a Book means I play multiple roles. I’m the organization’s storyteller, library educator, resident artist and art teacher, dance teacher, trainer, operations head, fundraiser, accountant, social media manager, PR person, cleaner etc etc all rolled into one. I am required to switch […]
A woman with many hats! Read More »
Moving to a place where winter temperatures can dip down to sub-zero had never been on my list. In fact, I hated being in cold places. Ironically, though, the two places where we work via Let’s Open a Book – Spiti and Manali, both experience freezing winter temperatures. I spent my first winter in Manali
11 year old B has recently started coming to our Manali library. He is shy and sincere. He arrives exactly at opening time, picks up a book of his choice and keeps reading attentively until closing time. He also borrows a book every day, to read at home. B hardly ever talks, except yesterday, when
A difficult, heartfelt conversation Read More »
A question that I often get asked is “How did you figure out that you wanted to run a free community library”? It was a process that unfolded slowly and organically. It helped that I had been a voracious reader when I was growing up. And that I had had volunteering experience in the free
Running a free library Read More »
Another Spitian summer is coming to a close. Night-time temperatures have started dipping to sub-zero and the first snow of the season has already fallen. Water, electricity and phone network issues have all started cropping up, as is common for this time of the year. I have been winding up my work here; it is
And what a day it was! We had 150 people show up, a huge number by Spiti standards. This was about five times the people that we were prepared to host, and fifteen times of our average daily footfall. Most of them were children, who started showing up in groups an hour before the opening
Our new free community library space for Let’s Open a Book, which we’ve been slowly setting up over the last month, opens in a few hours. The inauguration is going to be a humble event, but I’m anxious. I’m sitting here alone, mentally reviewing the arrangements for the day. I can’t help but think of
Embracing Imperfections Read More »
I was recently felicitated for the work we’re doing at Let’s Open a Book. This happened at the La Darcha fair, a multi-day festival celebrating the historical trade relations between different Himalayan regions. The award was presented by Ravi Thakur Lauhal Spiti, organized by Himachal Ekta Munch. I was one of the 30 women who
Felicitation at Ladarcha Mela Read More »
Finally, after months of scouting, we’ve found a new library space in Kaza (Spiti Valley) for Let’s Open a Book. It is a four-room space that will have separate reading rooms for children and adults. This is a significant upgrade from the one and a half rooms that we had previously been operating from. The
‘आज बहुत बर्फ पड़ रही है, आज बच्चे नहीं आए’ (it’s snowing a lot today, so none of the kids have showed up) – Kalzang tells me. She says this quite hesitantly, so I reassure her that it is completely ok. I also realise that it has happened for the first time in months. In
