We started Walking BookFairs in January 2014 in Koraput, Odisha. Over the past year, we have been holding small book exhibitions in different parts of the state.
It all began last year in Koraput with books in a backpack. We carried the books and displayed them in public spaces such as bus stops and pavements for people to have a look at. We went to small villages and towns in Koraput district, where people have no access to books. The few bookstores that do exist in smaller towns have only text books and stationery.
We also wanted to promote reading for pleasure. The biggest challenge for us has been to get people to look beyond textbooks.
After Koraput, we wanted to go to more places in Odisha, so we bought an old second-hand van. We loaded our van with books and travelled across Odisha, holding small book exhibitions in villages and towns.
The ‘Read Odisha Tour 2015’ is our second Odisha book tour. We started April 21, 2015, from Bhubaneswar, with a book exhibition and public reading. The ‘Read Odisha Tour 2015’ will travel to all 30 districts of Odisha in 15 days. So far we have travelled through 26 districts – 2436 km.
Our second-hand Maruti Omni van has custom built shelves to hold our books. We are carrying about 1500-2000 books with us in English and Odia. We usually stop at a public space - a bus stop or college or school or marketplace, and open our van for people to have a look. We encourage them to browse, and we also have a discount on all our books.
We have HarperCollins India, Speaking Tiger Books and Westland Books as our partners for this book tour. The sales have not been great, but we are happy that so many people have looked at books.
We found some book-lovers in the middle of the jungle in Kendujhar district. We also met a father who bought a storybook for his children with the Rs 25 he had in his pocket.
We visited a school in Bisoi, Mayurbhanj, where we met about 100 child workers rescued from different locations and admitted to school. We held a public reading and storytelling session for them.
We also came across many young boys and girls from various villages who had never seen or read a storybook. We donated books to these children with the promise that they would spread the joy of reading around in their communities.
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It all began last year in Koraput with books in a backpack. We carried the books and displayed them in public spaces such as bus stops and pavements for people to have a look at. We went to small villages and towns in Koraput district, where people have no access to books. The few bookstores that do exist in smaller towns have only text books and stationery.
We also wanted to promote reading for pleasure. The biggest challenge for us has been to get people to look beyond textbooks.
After Koraput, we wanted to go to more places in Odisha, so we bought an old second-hand van. We loaded our van with books and travelled across Odisha, holding small book exhibitions in villages and towns.
The ‘Read Odisha Tour 2015’ is our second Odisha book tour. We started April 21, 2015, from Bhubaneswar, with a book exhibition and public reading. The ‘Read Odisha Tour 2015’ will travel to all 30 districts of Odisha in 15 days. So far we have travelled through 26 districts – 2436 km.
Our second-hand Maruti Omni van has custom built shelves to hold our books. We are carrying about 1500-2000 books with us in English and Odia. We usually stop at a public space - a bus stop or college or school or marketplace, and open our van for people to have a look. We encourage them to browse, and we also have a discount on all our books.
We have HarperCollins India, Speaking Tiger Books and Westland Books as our partners for this book tour. The sales have not been great, but we are happy that so many people have looked at books.
We found some book-lovers in the middle of the jungle in Kendujhar district. We also met a father who bought a storybook for his children with the Rs 25 he had in his pocket.
We visited a school in Bisoi, Mayurbhanj, where we met about 100 child workers rescued from different locations and admitted to school. We held a public reading and storytelling session for them.
We also came across many young boys and girls from various villages who had never seen or read a storybook. We donated books to these children with the promise that they would spread the joy of reading around in their communities.