Spinning stories for some kids @ library for the children of a waste picker community in Bengaluru
There are images splayed across all the walls
of the two rooms that house Buguri, the new community library in Bengaluru. A
bunch of bright balloons propel an elephant across fluffy clouds; a world
populated by toadstools, cacti, trees and stars emanates from the pages of an
open book; giraffes, monkeys, penguins and ants clamber onto the fresh white
walls. The piece de resistance, however, is the wall that bears a picture of
two children playing with a top. It is symbolic of both the name and sentiment
behind the creation of this library.
Buguri, Kannada for spinning top, was named
that because, “not only is the name playful and light and easy for a child to
relate to but it also symbolises the spinning of thoughts and ideas,” says
Lakshmi Karunakaran, who has spearheaded the project. An initiative of Hasiru
Dala—a Bengaluru-based organisation for waste pickers and informal waste
collectors in the city—the library hopes to bring stories to the children of
this community.
“We work with different communities of waste
pickers—they do a significant amount of work for the cities but there is no
recognition, help or social security easily available for them,” points out
Karunakaran, adding that most of these people work really hard to see that
their children are educated. However, more often than not, their children end
up dropping out and getting sucked into the same cycle their parents were once
part of. “There are a lot of children who need help,” she says.
And a library is a brilliant way to organise
children and help them learn together. Nalini Shekhar, co-founder of Hasiru
Dala, agrees. “It is not just the library but the whole concept of creating a
safe space for these children,” she says.
While there are numerous bastis in Bengaluru where
these waste pickers congregate, the one at Banashankari was chosen as a pilot
for the project, because it was a more settled and well-located space.
“We wanted something that would not disappear
in a few months. Since the government has constructed concrete flats for them,
the chances of them being evicted are low,” says Karunakaran.
However, finding a space to set up a library
was hard. “People did not want to give a place for children from slums,” says
Shekhar. Finally, they managed to find a space above an old age home on the fringes
on the basti.
On Republic Day this year, a wall-painting
event was held that saw a number of children participate in the collaborative
project. “They were so possessive about the area they were painting,” laughs
Bengaluru-based artist, Poornima Sukumar, who was present on the occasion,
adding that they promised her that they would look after the walls and not let
anyone dirty it.
This exercise was instrumental in creating a
spirit of ownership among the children, says Karunakaran. “The next day, 20 kids
landed up, asking for books, and once it started, it just continued,” she says.
Reasons vary
Different children find different reasons to
come here, of course. Nine-year-old Bhuwaneshwari, a school dropout, comes
because, “she likes books and she likes to read,” while seven-year-old
Rajeshwari is lured by the promise of pencils and crayons.
The rules, however, are the same, “Share
everything with love—books, thought and friendship,” says Karunakaran, who
hopes to expand this concept to other settlements in the city. It is important,
she says, especially in slums where children’s world views are often restricted
to the street on which they live. “Books really can change you—I was completely
shaped by them. Now I want them to bring different worlds to these kids too,”
she says.
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Knowledge Repository
Khaitan & Co
Upcoming Event | MANLIBNET 17th Annual
International Conference on 15-16 September 2017 at Jaipuria, Noida, India
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