SELF-HELP ROADSIDE LIBRARY

A restless girl born in the pristine state of Arunachal Pradesh, Ngurang Meena recently made headlines with her initiative of setting up a self-help library. The idea of roadside library dawned upon her when she strived to do something for the society whilst, reviving the lost habit of reading books amongst the people of her state. At a time when access to wine shop was more convenient than bookstores, it was then she took it to herself to construct a roadside library. Apart from the library, Meena has also worked on empowering women who often fall prey to societal norms. Having witnessed the odds in the society she stood to the cause and embarked on a journey to make a change. Mumeninaz Zaman gets in touch with the Changemaker.

- NGURANG MEENA

A humble blue coloured shelf welcomes the passersby of a colony in Nirjuli, a town in the Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh to immerse in the neatly kept books of various genres. A first of its kind initiative in the state, the brainchild behind this noble initiative of spreading knowledge to one and all is Ngurang Meena, an educator and a social activist based in Arunachal Pradesh.

The roadside self help library is a rack loaded with books and a couple of wooden benches for the readers by the road. It has a plastic sheet to cover it from the rain and sun and was recently made functional for the common people, who can come, pick any book and read.

“The library was started on August 30th. From the first day itself, we could see small kids coming in but I had to lure them with chocolates sometimes. But for elders it was a bit difficult as they were reluctant to adapt to the new concept. To that I thought that lending facilities should be done,” says Meena.

The library consists of many fictions, non-fictions and even academic books, informs Meena, who aspires to spread the wings of knowledge to other parts of the state. “We are open 24x7, people come, read and refer the books on a daily basis, which is a good sign, but we really need to work hard on this because this is just one colony and my dream is to spread it everywhere in Arunachal,” adds Meena.

She has spent Rs.10,000 to procure the books and another Rs.10,000 to create the library shelves which she constructed with the help of her students. Few of the procured books are shelved in the library and the rest are currently stored in her home.