A year ago, the library was shifted to a rented house inside the village. The new location is a bit far from the school and the bus stop, and is inaccessible to many.
The building that earlier housed the library. (Supplied)
It was 4:30 pm. The sudden collective chatter and shrieks of joy rose over the ringing bell announcing the end of one more day at the government school at Kuratti Hosur in Karnataka’s Chamarajnagar.
Around 60 children poured out of the classrooms in gay abundance, eager to reach their homes, where other friends would be waiting to play till nightfall.
Those coming from Dantalli would not be reaching their village before sunset. The bus to their village would arrive only around 6:30 pm. They have two more hours before starting the journey home.
They cross the road and enter a tile-roofed building opposite the school where they would be spending the time waiting for the bus. The building housed a library — the KH Library — till a year ago, where the children went through the exciting world of letters and pictures.
Their parents were a relieved lot since they knew their wards would be safe under the watchful eyes of Basavaraj M, the librarian of the KH village panchayat.
Today, the same children walk towards the bus stop. Some engage in conversations, while a few others are involved in some games to while away the time, even as some others just sit on the ground watching the goings-on with bored eyes.
Meanwhile, the dilapidated library building remains opposite the school — locked, still, and falling apart.
A year ago, the library was shifted to a rented house inside the village. The new location is a bit far from the school and the bus stop.
Wealth of knowledge. The library at Koratti Hosur. (Supplied)
“The library was earlier located in a convenient location, attracting many school children and others from the locality. Now, since it is set up in a house in a residential area, deep inside the village, only a few local children access it. Other children just while away their time. I feel sad seeing this. Their good time is left unused,” Basavaraju said.
Basavaraju said he was appointed as librarian in 2007. An old, vacant building in the village was handed over to set up the library by the then Panchayat Development Officer and the president of the panchayat. However, the building which was already in bad condition, started deteriorating.
The librarian said he made several pleas to the panchayat and the government to shift the library to a new space or demolish the building to construct a new one. Nothing happened.
“I made repeated pleas to all higher officials but it fell on deaf ears. Children of this village love reading and I have seen that the state government is also doing its best to inculcate reading habits and are holding several workshops,” he said.
An undeterred Basavaraju made requests to the panchayat officials and the president to at least provide an alternative space for the library as the condition of the building became unsafe.
In 2023, the library was shifted to a small rented house belonging to the panchayat president. Basavaraju said the new location is inaccessible for many.
The library now operates from a rented house. (Supplied)
“We shifted the library to the rented house in April 2023 and unfortunately not many children or residents are accessing it now. I have informed every possible higher official but nothing has worked. I have been getting requests from the students and the residents to shift it to the main road, where it was located earlier,” he said.
Meanwhile, the newspaper bills piled up. Basavaraju said he cleared the dues from his pocket. He said the officials are not keen on subscribing to newspapers since people are not visiting the facility. “Why waste money buying newspapers,” the librarian quoted them as saying.
South First spoke to a few children in the village. They said that the library on the main road was helpful. They want it to be shifted back to the old building which could be demolished and reconstructed, or to a vacant space available next to the old building.
“Our friends also used to come to the library with us. Now, they say if we come inside the village we won’t know if the bus to our village has come or not and the bus won’t wait for us,” the children said.
“They just simply sit and waste their time. We have new mobile phones in the library and a TV. It would be nice if our friends also can join us. We want the old library back help us please,” Nagarathna M, a Class 8 student from Kuratti Hosur pleaded.
Basavaraju said nearly 60 children visit the library which has a membership of 600 people. “If the building is good and accessible, more people will visit the library,” he said.
Children watching stories on TV in the library (Supplied)
He said that the library has 6,017 books, including those on personality development, novels, short stories, poetry, autobiographies, and books for competitive exams. It also has charts displayed, providing information on courses after Class 10. Basavaraju said many students seek his advice.
He requested Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta, principal secretary, Panchayati Raj, who has been a guiding force for the betterment of rural public libraries to look into the matter and help in shifting the library to a more accessible place.
“More than boys, girls visit the library. I have told them to continue their studies after Class 10. There are several courses that they can take up. We are trying our best even in the current place. However, moving to a proper space would encourage more number of people to visit it. Despite having 600 members, only 60 are visiting the library, Help us Uma ma’am,” Basavaraju pleaded.
May 19, 2024
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