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From the woman who wants you to read
Updated On: 18 February, 2024 07:41 AM IST | Rahimatpur | Neerja Deodhar
A library in rural Satara with a 70-year-old legacy steeped in progressive, anti-caste values, continues to serve the local community. mid-day traces Hind Vachanalay’s radical origins and future plans to take its initiatives beyond home ground
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The Hind Vachanalaya is a catalysing, unifying force in Rahimatpur, and city residents contribute to its sustenance through funds and books from their own homes. Pics/Sameer Markande
Across fields of marigold, sugarcane and paddy, Nikhil Nimbalkar travels 45 km from his Udtare village to Rahimatpur in Satara district. In this quiet city, home to humble two-floor houses and businesses, the Hind Vachanalaya and Granthalaya enjoys a towering presence. From the steps of its staircases to the signs on its walls, the public library is a celebration of reading and knowledge, and the ways in which they can open the doors of one’s mind. It was in a video circulating on YouTube that Nimbalkar noticed phrases like “Savay laavu vaachanaachi, ughadu daare pragatichi [Inculcate a reading habit, and watch the doors to progress open for you]”.
“I came across the video a month ago. In my village, no one has ever suggested that a public library be established. It tends to be noisy all the time, and I’ve often had to find a spot in the nearby forest to study in silence before crucial exams,” Nimbalkar says to mid-day. He is the newest addition to the Hind Vachanalaya’s 1,610-strong membership comprising students, the elderly who take great leisure in reading newspapers together, young children and working adults.
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