Re: [LIS-Forum] LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 225, Issue 22

21 Dec 2021


      41years of dedicated service to nurture and cultivate reading habits among
users 🙏bravo. Person above bharat ratna award but librarians are least
recognised .
With regards :Abha sinha jnv Nalanda.

On Tue, Dec 21, 2021, 13:13  wrote:
...
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: This Librarian Spent 41 Years Walking 12 Km Daily To
      Deliver Books (Sharmila Ghosh)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2021 10:53:59 +0530
From: Sharmila Ghosh 
To: Padmanabha Vyasamoorthy 
Cc: lis-forum 
Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] This Librarian Spent 41 Years Walking 12
        Km Daily To Deliver Books
Message-ID:
        <
CAFPb0em-w26+AyQN1d1GiwSWTxP2Ace_AzRLRRpTdyuEHwK5LA@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Thanks Sir 🙏 for sharing this piece.. Unsung heroes.. Are a class of their
own..
This story can be published in "Better India"..
Regards
Sharmila Ghosh
Mysore, Karnataka
On Tue, 21 Dec, 2021, 10:44 am Padmanabha Vyasamoorthy, <
vyasamoorthy@gmail.com> wrote:
...
Amazing professionals are amongst us!!
This Librarian Spent 41 Years Walking 12 Km Daily To Deliver Books
=============================================
For the last 41 years, one man in Karuvatta in Kerala’s Alappuzha has
been
walking 12 kilometres, from house to house, every day. His only
companions
are two bags full of 60-70 books, and lunch packed from home.
P Sukumaran is a ‘walking librarian’, who visits about 35 houses in the
Karuvatta and Kumarapuram grama panchayats to deliver books to women and
children. He works for the Kumarapuram Public Library, where he first
began
a job as a librarian in his early twenties, in 1979.
“I love books, and I find happiness in walking and reaching out to
readers,
delivering books and periodicals,” the 61-year-old tells The Better
India.
“I get a lot of perks during my daily walks. For example, I get to enjoy
nature and greenery on my way. Also, I am a person who loves to talk a
lot
about the things I have read, and going to different houses gives me a
chance to interact with and share this knowledge with others, including
children,” says Sukumaran, who has a Bachelors in Economics from SD
College, Alappuzha.
This public library, which was established in 1950 and runs in a small
two-room building, was once known to be among the finest in the area, but
had been in a state of decline for a while, owing to a dwindling number
of
visitors. That’s when Sukumaran decided to introduce the initiative of
walking and reaching out to readers by distributing books.
“The library needed people, and the people needed some fine books. So, I
thought, why not have the library reach the people? That’s how I began
this
journey 41 years ago,” he explains.
From Monday to Saturday, Sukumaran walks around 12 km daily. He starts
his
day by going to the library at 8.30 am, and around 10.30, he leaves to
start delivering books. He carries his lunch with him and later returns
to
the library by 4 pm. He says he doesn’t know how to ride a bicycle, and
prefers walking over any other mode of transport.
“When I was studying in college, I used to work as a newspaper boy and
walked long distances everyday to make deliveries every morning. I’ve
been
used to walking since then, and I never get tired,” he says.
Sukumaran says his mission is to inculcate the value of books and the
habit
of reading. “I am an avid reader and I started reading from a very young
age. I used to read around 11 newspapers everyday. I believe that reading
makes you wise, it helps you understand the world better and makes you a
better human being. So, I am on a mission to do my part as a conscious
human being.”
Sukumaran’s efforts to reach out to his readers has helped the library
thrive through many difficult times, and the number of memberships in the
library has increased ever since, he says.
Most of Sukumaran’s readers are children and women. He goes to every
house
to not just deliver books, but also interact with them. He reads all the
books that he lends out, and says he tries to give the reader a text that
will suit their taste.
He says, “I don’t go to these houses just to deliver books. I spend some
quality time interacting with readers and discussing the books. I ask
them
questions or seek their opinions, especially to children, to make sure
that
they have read the book properly and understood it.”
P Sukumaran, the walking librarian from Alappuzha, Kerala, who travels 12
km daily to deliver books for the past 41 years.
Life has never been easy for Sukumaran, who has been living in a rented
house for the past 15 years with his wife and 12-year-old son, who has
been
diagnosed with autism.
As a librarian, he lives on a meagre monthly allowance of Rs 3,100 from
the
Kerala State Library Council and a 30 per cent commission he gets from
the
book sales. “I’ve always wanted to build a house of my own. But my son
needs proper treatment and medication, so most of my earnings are spent
taking care of him. But I am happy with whatever I have right now.”
He adds, “I am very passionate about my work. My daily walks and
interactions with the readers make me forget about all my personal
struggles. It energises me, and I find happiness in it.”
Meanwhile, P Gopalan, secretary of Kumarapuram Public Library and
Sukumaran’s elder brother, takes care of the library when the latter goes
out every day to deliver books.
He says that the building used to house around 20,000 texts at one point,
but has since lost about 25 per cent of them. “We lost a lot of books
during the 2019 floods in Kerala. A big tree fell over the library
building, breaking the roof and destroying around 6,000 books. Now we are
in the process of getting new ones, which had been delayed due to the
pandemic,” P Gopalan says.
“We run our library in a small two-room building, which is not big enough
for it to function. We even have a few rare books, and people still come
in
search of them for reference. But it saddens me that our library doesn’t
have enough space or facilities to accommodate them,” Sukumaran adds
disappointedly.
When asked about his brother’s work, Gopalan says, “He is a very
passionate
and energetic person. He’s an avid reader and someone who always sticks
to
his ideologies.”
As we conclude our conversation, Sukumaran notes, “The habit of reading
could do wonders to people. So, it is essential to read more, get
inspired,
and build a society that thrives on humility.”
Honouring his work and dedication, in 2016, Sukumaran was awarded the I V
Das memorial award by the Kerala State Library Council Staff Association.
If you want to contact or offer financial assistance, you can call P
Sukumaran at 9747451348.
=======
https://www.thebetterindia.com/269075/p-sukumaran-walking-librarian-kerala-k...
...
Dr P Vyasamoorthy / 9490804278
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