The smell of old books and the joy of running your fingers over worn out pages of a classic is never going to be a thing of the past.
Even as digital libraries and online books have become the norm, the old-school circulating library is finding takers.
Bengaluru-based Maraa, a media and arts collective, has converted a corner of their office into a library space.
With a wide selection of books under arts, poetry, comics, philosophy, literature, fiction, non-fiction and music, the team at Maraa has thoughtfully curated the collection.
“The idea was born from our collective love of reading,” says Angarika Guha, coordinator, arts program. She adds, “We have an eclectic collection of books in Maraa — texts we’ve sought after as well as gifts from friends and colleagues. Over the years, many visitors to the office have spent time with the books. So we’d been toying with the idea of opening the collection to the public.”
Finally, in early May, they opened their doors to book lovers in the city with the help of two interns who catalogued and create the library.
Some of the titles on the shelves are Hyphenated by Mihir Chitre, The History of the World by Frank Welsh, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, The Indignant Eye: The Artist as Social Critic in Prints and Drawings from the Fifteenth Century to Picasso by Ralph E Shikes and many more.
The rules to borrow are simple: Take a book for two weeks, if you are late, you pay a fine by contributing another book to the library. Annual membership is Rs 600.
But the question remains, how relevant is a circulating library in this digital age?
“We believe there are still a large number of people who enjoy visiting libraries, enjoy the musty smell of old books, and the discipline of reading a book within two weeks,” concludes Angarika.
At Indira Nagar. 11am - 5 pm. Details: info@maraa.in
ayeshatabassum@newindianexpress.com
@aishatax