BHUBANESWAR: A library - fashioned out of an old discarded bus - was inaugurated on the premises of Kala Bhoomi crafts museum here on Monday by MP Amar Pattnaik. The library has been set up by Bakul Foundation in collaboration with the department of Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts department and SIDAC.
Having books for both children and adults, it will be managed by a young engineer couple, Aparajita Mohanty and Pintu Bhattacharjee. They will be supported by other volunteers of Bakul Foundation. There will be regular sessions on storytelling and craft workshops at the library as well.
The bus library will be a permanent feature in the parking lot of the museum. In the last one year, Bakul has been trying to take books to public spaces in attractive and new ways. Given the shortage and absence of libraries in the rapidly expanding southern part of the Capital city, Bakul had been wanting to set up a library in the Khandagiri area.
The idea of having a library in the museum took shape after R Balakrishnan, Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister, encouraged both Bakul Foundation and the department to set up one. While OSRTC donated the bus, Bakul mobilised donations to transform the bus into an attractive library.
Among others, Chairperson OAVS Upendra Tripathy, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Department of Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Subha Sharma, Member Secretary SIDAC Sisir Kumar Ratha and Bakul Foundation founder Sujit Mahapatra were present at the inauguration.