Mobile library helps students from economically-weaker sections in Tiruvannamalai

Poovarasan, the librarian, has a sole aim: he wants to reach the children as quickly as possible and the urgency to reach the school before the last bell is writ large on his face.
Poovarasan's mobile library in Tiruvannamalai town. (Photo| EPS)
Poovarasan's mobile library in Tiruvannamalai town. (Photo| EPS)

TIRUVANNAMALAI: Around five km away from Tiruvannamalai town, children stood by the windows at Adaiyur panchayat middle school eagerly awaiting a nondescript motorcycle to emerge from the gates. Even after the school bell rang, they stood still, hoping that the two-wheeler would turn up soon.

Poovarasan, the librarian, has a sole aim: he wants to reach the children as quickly as possible. The urgency to reach the school before the last bell is writ large on his face. On the backpack, you won't miss the bold letters, nadamadum nulagam (mobile library).

He rides between the lines of cows, and as he enters the government school, children swarm around him. With a wide grin, he removes the cover of his backpack, letting biblichor seep through it and fill the air. The books are distributed to students every 15 days free of cost. Ask Poovarasan the origin story of the largesse; he would turn back chapters to a flashback.The year is 2006.

Madhan Mohan is toiling away at an MNC company. The pay is great, but the job is no page-turner and the stress of it all is breath-taking. He conjures up some courage and jots down a resignation letter. That first-draft scribble was in a way Mohan's life-changing magnum opus. He turned to social work and founded Regenboog India Foundation, an NGO.

Mohan found that children from remote villages and economically-weaker sections in Tiruvannamalai were increasingly dropping out of schools. "There were various reasons for this, the main one being child marriages. In 2007, we launched Arunachala evening school at Vediyappanur village, with financial support from family and friends. Our aim is to provide a practical and stress-free learning atmosphere for abandoned and poor children," says Mohan.

Though the children got back to schooling, they failed to grasp topics and lacked confidence as the language of tuition was all Greek to them. So, Mohan decided that inculcating a habit of reading in them should be the first priority. "We also decided to help government school students acquire language skills. I studied in a government school and I understand their concerns," he adds.

The mobile library was launched in 2008. Though school heads initially were sceptical of the scheme, the NGO team’s perseverance took the story sprinting forward. The beginnings were Dickensian. They carried books in vegetable baskets to the schools, and later brought in an old motorcycle.

Today, the NGO has four executives to deliver books to the schools. It also makes use of a small truck to cater to 4,858 active readers in 100 government schools. The children discuss the stories they read, and they seem to be discovering many worlds through the books, said P Velu, the headmaster of the Panchayat Union Middle School at Ganalapadi village.

Nadamadum nulagam boasts of over 16,000 fiction and non-fiction books. Each student is provided with an identity card and can borrow two books at a time, and they should be returned within 15 days. For those finishing 10 books, one book is given free.

That is just enough time to travel around the world, meet emperors, sail across seas, find love, wrestle beasts, and rush back in time for Poovarasan’s return.

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The New Indian Express
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