Bibliophiles in the city have much to rejoice! The Cochin Corporation, in association with Kites, an NGO, has started a new initiative, ‘Vayanapetti’, which will see over 100 ‘book banks’ opened in various corners in the city.
The first of them opened at Panampilly Nagar’s Koithara Park last week.
The initiative aims to inculcate the habit of reading in youngsters and to make the spaces that these Vayanapettis occupy more people-friendly.
“Now, anyone who comes to the park during the opening hours can take any book they like, sit in the park, read, and discuss it with fellow readers,” says V A Sreejith, the standing committee chairman (education) of the Corporation.
The books must be returned to the Vayanapetti when they leave, he points out. “However, should anyone want to take the book with them, they can leave another book in its place,” Sreejith adds.
Following positive responses from the public, the Cochin Corporation and Kites have identified 30 more spaces to install Vayanapettis.
“The locations in consideration are Changampuzha Park, Subhash Bose Park, Rajendra Maidan, General Hospital, Vasco Da Gama Square in Fort Kochi,” says Ajmal Chakkarapadam, the CEO of Kites India. Plans are also afoot to constitute reading groups.
“We want to create a reading culture. For this, communities and platforms to discuss books are vital,” Sreejith says. There are also plans to introduce sessions with writers.
Residents can also “set up Vayanapettis in their neighbourhood or donate books by contacting Kites,” Ajmal adds.
Kites is also developing a mobile app by way of which readers can borrow and donate books. The Cochin Corporation, in its 2024-25 budget, had allocated Rs 20 lakh to bolster reading culture in the city.