The library space has remained a constant in her life. As a librarian, she would visit one every day and consume books with the regularity as one would breathe air. And now, life has come a full circle as Bhawna Goswami, 25, launched her own book, It’s Because of You, based on a real-life story of a student who is full of gratitude towards her teacher.
“I have always been connected to the libraries and books since 2006. I believe that the universe has given me something, for which I am very grateful. I wanted to share this reward so that I can inspire and contribute something to society,” adds the Bhajanpura resident, who holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science. After interning at DRDO, Goswami went on to work as a Digital Librarian at National Defence College for two years.
“Currently, I work with Refread, an IT company that builds digital libraries for academic and research institutions. But in 2018, I was trying to do something I had never before. I wanted to pay tribute to my teacher, Sabita Varun ma’am, who made me what I am today. I decided to do it in the form of a book. I have been writing it since 2015, but only as a personal diary. So, with support of my friends and my school librarian Ranjeet Kaur Bami, I started writing the story."
Goswami met biology teacher, Sabita Varun, in school (Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya) in 2009. Varun never taught her, but it was Goswami’s dream to study in her class.
“I wanted to take Science because she taught biology to Class 11, but I only secured 78 per cent in my 10th and couldn’t get admission because the cut off was 85 per cent. Disappointed Goswami pledged that she will not meet her, until she becomes something that she is proud of.
“Later, I got selected for an internship in DESIDOC [India’s biggest documentation centre] and somehow after four years in 2015, this news reached Sabita ma’am, and she invited me to meet her. I never got a chance to be in her class as a student but she gave me the chance to teach her class once. I even told them my story and they got emotional,” tells Goswami.
Hundred per cent royalty of the book will be donated to an NGO Pehchan - The Street School, where she works as a volunteer.
“This book is not published for a commercial reason. I couldn’t make money out of this, this is just for sharing the story of humanity,” adds Goswami, who also started a talent platform Write and Recite in 2019.
“We organise a physical event every month, and we invite all new artists on our platform. we give them a stage, the audience who can listen, we also shoot their videos and post it on our youtube channel. It helps them create an artist profile,” she adds.
Write and Recite is connected with more than 300 artists – dancers, singers, poets, storytellers, instrument players, standup comedians, rappers, and painters – between the age group of 15 to 30.