KANNUR: A mid growing digitisation, here is someone who has opted to walk to people’s houses to spread the habit of reading. Not an easy task, it would appear. But VP Radha, of Vellur near Payyannur, is on a mission. An ardent book aficionado, the 57-year-old started off her not-so-conventional journey in 2002 when the Payyannur municipality decided to introduce the project -- mobile library -- to encourage reading among housewives.
Though the idea received a good response, nobody came forward to take up the task of delivering books to these housewives, recalls N Rajesh, librarian of Vellur Jawahar Library. And up stepped Radha, who is also an executive member of Vellur Jawahar Library, promising to deliver books to inquiring minds.
For the past two decades, Radha has been walking through the many lanes and narrow roads carrying a bulky shoulder bag full of books, only to deliver them to the doorsteps of readers who don’t have the avenue to visit the library, due to various reasons.
“Back then, I was yearning for an extra income as my job at the Dinesh Beedi company was not paying me well. The company had reduced the number of working days, which subsequently lowered the pay by 15%. Since I had to raise my children, I took up this task. I have always been an avid reader and that’s what gives me the energy to walk to deliver books,” Radha says. At the time of the launch, around 60 readers joined the project.
“Some of them cancelled their membership and eventually new persons joined. Currently, there are 133 active women readers under the project,” she says. Each reader is given a week to finish the book issued from the library. The readers can select their desired book from the lot inside Radha’s bag, and if they require any particular one, she would bring it to them the very next week. Well, Radha works every day as the readers are scattered across Vellur and nearby areas.
A mother of two, Radha married off her daughter Ranjini with the income she acquired carrying her bag of ‘joy’. She now stays with her son Sajan, who is a government employee. “This is a job that I love. I never felt the bag was heavy as the scent of the books always gave me immense happiness,” she says, with a smile of contentment.