The Covid-19 pandemic tilted the world on its axis, making many of us feel off-kilter. But for 11-year-old, Hyderabad-based Akarshana Sathish, the pandemic brought a sense of connectedness with those suffering around her. But it was not before she confronted some hard-hitting life situations.
It was at the time of the pandemic when Akarshana would often visit the MNJ Cancer Children Hospital with her parents to offer donations.
Soon, the faces and their pain became familiar to this young girl. Of all the children undergoing chemotherapy, Akarshana seemed to share a special bond with one of them.
“She told me that there is no activity to do in the hospital and asked to bring some colouring books for her,” Akarshana told South First.
However, her friendship with the girl was short-lived. “By the time I got colouring books for her, she had passed away,” Akarshana recollected.
While she was disheartened by the news, it was also incidentally her Eureka moment. Akarshana decided to start a library for children undergoing cancer treatment in the hospital.
Since then, the Class 7 student has established a total of seven libraries — five in Hyderabad and one each in Chennai and Coimbatore. As recent as on 5 August, Saturday, Akarshana’s seventh library was inaugurated at the Government High School in Sanath Nagar.
“I decided that all those kids haven’t had any engaging activity in the hospital. So that’s when I began collecting books whether it’s my own, or my neighbours’, school, friends and family members. During weekends, I drop a message for people who are willing to donate their old books.” she said.
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Seven libraries so far
Akarshana has gathered and donated 5,120 books in over seven libraries so far. While the first one was at the MNJ Cancer Children Hospital with 1,046 books, the second library started at the Sanath Nagar Police Station (829 books).
Next was at the Juvenile & Observation Home for Girls in Hyderabad (625 books), the fourth at the Gayathri Nagar Association, Borabanda (200 books).
The fifth and sixth libraries are located at the Coimbatore City Police Street libraries (1,200 books) and the Chennai Boys Club in the Nolambur Police Station (610 books).
“The books are mostly based on general knowledge along with fiction and non-fiction books. There are books for children, autobiographies and biographies in Telugu, Hindi and English. I believe that books will encourage people to read more frequently, which will increase their knowledge.” she shared.
But why at police stations?
“People who come to the police station to file their grievances or other things could pick a book and read while waiting,” she quipped.
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Personal preference
At the event, Akarshana shared that she has been an avid reader since childhood.
“I love reading books. I have read more than 1,000 books and I still have them at home. However, I am not a fan of novels; I’m mainly into general information books like encyclopedias, and I also like history books,” she informed the gathering.
Additionally, she also received guidance and support from her teachers while setting up the library project.
“During the inauguration of my first library, I had invited some of my teachers. My school friends also encouraged me. Some of them gave me their old books, which are of no use to them anymore,” Akarshana said.
This Hyderabad Public School students also considered opening a library at one of the Metro stations in the city. “A lot of locals use the Metro. So people can read books while waiting. This way, they might even come again to use the Metro,” she elaborated.
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Ultimate dream, astrophysicist
Akarshana draws inspiration from her father, J Sathish Kumar. “In his early twenties, my father used to do a lot of social service projects like this. So, I aspired to follow in his footsteps,” she added.
Her mother, she says, is a source of encouragement for her. “With the help of my mother, uncles and aunt, I was able to get money to buy cupboards for the books in these libraries,” she detailed.
“Whatever she knows, she has to give it back to the society. She reads a lot of books, and felt that the reading habit is dwindling. Many use electronic devices to read, instead of a physical book. A book means you have to touch, feel it and you have to read it,” her mother, Pavithra, told South First.
As Akarshana traced her journey thus far, the crowd, of course, was curious to know how she managed to balance her project and academics.
“Studying is the most important thing to me. And I always manage to stay in the top three of my class along with that,” she informed the audience.
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Kalam inspiration
Among her many interests is coding. “I like creating apps or creating Artificial Intelligence in software like Java and others,” she said.
Akarshana aspires to be an astrophysicist. Her love for space and space-related matters comes from her fascination for physics. “I have been inspired by APJ Abdul Kalam sir.”
Interestingly, Akarshana was named by the former President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam. He shared a good rapport with her family, owing to her father’s long-term working relationship with Kalam.
“The first thing he said when he saw our daughter was that she was attractive, so we named her Akarshana,” Sathish Kumar told South First.
Here’s hoping India sees more of Akarshana and her ilk! More power to her tribe!
