The start of September saw a very lucky bibliophile at the steps of the Bookworm Trust and Library in Goa. Thanks to the immense support of Wipro Foundation which facilitates capacity building courses for educators and organization heads, Pritika from the Ficus team got the life changing opportunity to take part in the Introduction to Libraries course by Bookworm. This is her story of the perspective shifts she witnessed in her week with the library.
The first thing to cross anyone's mind when telling them that you are going to Goa, is not that of libraries, least of all an intensive library program for an entire week. I found myself consistently having to clarify before I left from Chennai, that I will in fact not be singing sea shanties from a tourist boat. Especially since the email brief specifically mentioned that one will not have time to do things other than library work. I was quite apprehensive as the date got closer and did at many points wonder if I had it in me to survive an entire week learning new things and meeting new people (yes, yes those are good things) when my head was currently in what I can only describe as being in a solid 'do-not-disturb-busy-with-a-hundred-ok-fine-four-to-do-lists' mode.
I'm glad I made it, and I'm starting to see why such courses are important. It helps to move you from a place of languid routine and limited beliefs to one where you remember to check the cupboards for pathways to Narnian lamp posts.
My stay for the week along with other participants for the course was in the Fontainhas part of Goa, where one could walk along the slowly swirling Mandovi river with its mangrove banks. The library itself was a nearby walk, a blessing considering how I was almost always running 'five minutes late' over the next five days.
From the get-go, the folks at Bookworm went above and beyond to make every one of us feel welcome. For those of us who had arrived a day early, we were given hand-written postcards along with a lovely parcel of Goan sweets and nuts. On the first day of the course, we were garlanded with seashell necklaces, given sweets and welcomed to the workshop space with a beautiful song as we stepped past tealights, bookshelves and marigolds. Over the week, we were given comfortable amounts of time to have our tea which was always served with a side of something delicious and crunchy, and large lunches which made sure we were well nourished throughout.
Before coming for the course I'd been on a call with one of the folks from Bookworm who asked me what my expectations from the course were. We at Ficus had already started our Libraries in Schools program with our schools to get storybooks to children, however we were at the stage where we still had a lot of learning to do. For instance, how do we bring books to children who find their struggle to read painfully embarrassing? Are reading levels enough to decide which book goes to which class? How do we engage children who have had bad experiences with books? How do we give children the space to read what they want while also looking at learning outcomes? How do we make sure the books are looked after while also not scaring children away from freely taking and using the books? These were several questions that had been spiraling in my head so I'd decided my expectations with the Bookworm course were more for myself at this point. To have an open mind, take in what this space has been doing for the past 18 years (Happy Birthday Bookworm!) and then sift through the questions I needed help with answering.
Well, no amount of expectations could have prepared me for the kind of learning this course has set upon me to take up. Any string of words I use to describe the week would be an understatement. Imagine experiencing a jungle trail, a rollercoaster ride, the finals of a dance competition and star-gazing with friends on a quiet, chilly night. It felt like all of these wrapped in freshly made sponge cake. Like taking the best parts of a storybook and living it to the fullest. Sheer joy, the thrill of so many things to experience, the laughter, the movement, and the whopping number of books! I was so glad to see that such a space could exist and children can get to be a part of something like this growing up. And for adults like me, to take it all in and explore creating such a space in our own diverse environments of learning and teaching.
To describe everything which happened over the course of five days would be like sharing the endings of a favourite book series. So I'll leave the details for folks to experience it themselves (pssst! plan that Goa trip!). I'd like to instead share four (of the many, many) experiences which stayed with me, and the ways in which my perception of the library space found itself breaking free from a shell I previously didn't realize it was in.
1. My first Hindi book was read to me!
As someone who struggles with languages and has only recently been able to read Tamil books without breaking out in a sweat (thank you extremely strict Tamil school teacher), reading a Hindi book was never on the horizon for me. Up until the treasure hunt game put forward by the Bookworm team!
One of the activities as part of the workshop was for participants to split into groups and play each other in a round of treasure hunt. And this involved finding clues in the right books and doing the action asked of us to go on to the next clue! We had to do things like 'find the picture books M shelf' to 'draw this leaf in one of two ways described in the book', after finding the right book of course! I must say the clues were brilliantly devised and it made sure we accessed the different spaces of the library. Even the stacks we would otherwise find ourselves avoiding as 'that's not for me'.
Which is how I found myself excitedly rifling through the Hindi book shelf as part of finding the next clue! The action involved reading the story aloud, which involved a song, after which we had to come up with a song ourselves. While for a moment I felt that quick pit in my stomach as a person who doesn't know the language, that feeling immediately changed, as one person in the group read the story aloud while another person made sure to translate for me, and with all of us giggling as the story proceeded (it was quite funny!), we thought of a song to sing together to move to the next clue.
The game while extremely entertaining was a fantastic way to show us how we can break the inhibitions which come with books we feel we can't read and with spaces we feel are 'not for us'. It showed us how libraries do not have to be silent spaces for the holier than thou, and instead can be as much fun as an outdoor playground for children to fully involve and enjoy themselves in!
2. Making our own library cards
I don't remember the last time I saw a physical library card to be honest. The libraries that I do frequent in Chennai ensure that books being taken and returned are scanned and entered online. Which was why it something of a treat to be told we could make our own library cards! We could design them any way we wanted and we'd have to note down which books we'd taken and read from the library over the week. We were given the incredible opportunity to borrow as many books as we wanted, to take back with us to our hotel and bring back after reading them. As part of our reading, we were also asked to add a column to our card to write down how we felt about the book. A mini review of sorts where we could either write sentences or simply use the star stickers they kept in a basket.
I have to admit that it made me very happy to see my booklist grow and it was the first time I was keeping track of things I was reading. I have something I recently learned is referred to as a lack of object permanence, and what that means for me is that after I've read a book and you asked me about character names or specific scenes, recalling them is like having a flashback machine that doesn't work. So to physically list out the books I freshly read and to jot down why I liked or didn't like a certain book, was exceedingly helpful!
The sense of agency in making the card, filling the columns and being responsible for the books I was self-checking out, gave me an immediate sense of shared ownership with the library. There was no long list of rules we had to read out, or forms we had to sign saying we would not damage the books. There were no rigid due dates, and no fines! or punishments. There was just the simple act of trusting, sharing and an invitation to be as much a part of the library as one wanted to be.
3. A day at the beach like no other
I must admit that it felt good to know we were heading to the beach on a particularly sultry afternoon. I at first imagined that we'd be doing usual beach things - taking pictures with the sea behind us, splashing around giddily in the water, having something to snack on. I'm glad that this particular outing had very different things instead! We were told not to use our phones, to be aware of the near-private nature of the beach, and to just follow and be.
What followed was round after round of wonderfully crafted games we played as groups, minus the boisterousness one usually associates with beach games. They were fun, sometimes silent, sometimes filled with a lot of laughter, they got you thinking, and most of all, made you feel incredibly present of where you were with respect to everyone else in working together as one.
I never imagined a library space to extend to a beach, and the freeing nature of the different activities which got us moving and quite literally thinking on our feet. We were read aloud a story the Bookworm team had brought along, which felt extraordinary to listen to with the fine sand between our toes and the waves gently lapping at our feet.
I was struck by how much one can do with a good book and a beautiful understanding of how to use one's natural environment to level things up a notch. That books can transform an entire evening and keep you enthralled long enough that you forget to take that selfie to send home.
4. A collective evening of art
We were taken to one of Bookworm's branch libraries in Saligao, which was another space they had transformed and made into a beautiful children's library. The painted wall murals welcoming us gave us a hint of the activity we'd be doing that particular evening. While we were given the refreshing local Kokum juice to drink, we were invited to go around the space and indulge in the shelves stocked with books on biodiversity and conservation, the piano in one end of the room you could play on with no one telling you not to, and to just sit with it all and look up at a ceiling you could see the rain fall on.
After getting acquainted with the space, a huge sheet of paper was laid out before us and we were asked to sit around it, while soft pastels were passed around for us to use. We were given several prompts to think about and the full freedom to use the space in front of us to express ourselves as much as we'd like. The first of the prompts was to outline any part of our body as a shape to begin with. Most of us drew our hands, some of us a few fingers, one their ear! It was a hugely cathartic experience to share in that space together, each of us thinking, feeling, drawing and smudging colours. Artists in our own right!
I'm still amazed at the end result and how wonderfully it all came together. It was quite magical to see how the library could hold space for all of us in our messiest, colourful selves, with no expectation to be anyone but who we were in that moment.
Well I did say four, so I'll stop my reminiscing here. For all the learning and experiences, what helped the most was to meet with other like minded people I could laugh and lament with, go on walks after ten hours of working, and have coffee discussions till closing time. To learn a new stitch (yes there was stitching! :D), to share books we found hilarious, to indulge in some wonderful food which I otherwise would have missed if I'd been left to my own devices! I am glad for what this experience brought me and I'm filled with hopeful excitement for what's to come in the days ahead.
I'd like to leave you with one of the work Bookworm was a part of facilitating, which was a collective art piece inspired by a powerful poem invoking the Mahad Satyagraha led by Dr.B.R.Ambedkar. This art was made into bookmarks with the poem printed behind it. During our course we learned how Dr.B.R.Ambedkar amongst the many things he was and did for this country, had an extensive library with over fifty-thousand books. That his work and life continues to inspire so many of us from across the country, was incredibly beautiful to witness.
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