The Chanthanchira colony in Meenangadi panchayat in Wayanad stands apart from the other villages nearby. Why? One brightly painted house. This single-storey building is the tribal community’s ‘Book Pira’, which is loosely translated as library. It has become one of the most sought-after spaces for youngsters. And for a ward that has more tribals, especially the Paniya and Kuruma tribes, such an event was quite unexpected. The village, for years, was known to have the highest dropout rate of students from schools.
As you enter the Book Pira, one would see boards like ‘Padikkinja Sala’ (study room), ‘Vaayikkinja muri’ (reading room) and a wooden shelf that is tightly packed with books. With a music room and space exclusively for playing games, for the tribal community, Book Pira is more than just a library. The library was just one among the few other activities initiated under the tribal department’s project ‘Padanamuri’ to reduce dropout rates. NGO Swaminathan Foundation in Kalpetta along with its members Piyush Yadav and Totem resource center too participated in forming the library concept.
The project is run by tribal facilitator Vijitha C K. “Reading is a habit that is least seen among the students of the tribal community. Getting them to read never worked out before. More than just forming a library we decided to include activities that can be of interest to the students. After getting their suggestions we set up indoor games and a music room. Such recreational activities attracted many students to the library,” says Vijitha, who belongs to the Kuruma ward. Under the Book Pira, over 20 students of the Paniya community have formed a music band called ‘Thudipattu, and have performed on various stages.
Before Book Pira all the Chanthanchira colony had was a study centre with minimum facilities. And the space didn’t have much of a footfall. According to Vijitha, leaving education halfway is one of the major problems faced by tribal communities in general, and the percentage is higher here. After analysing what piques the interest of the students, the NGO and the tribal department came up with a slew of activities. The football academy, vegetable nursery, and the library were the few.
“Football has a great fan base among the young crowd. So we started a football academy with the motto, ‘no school, no football.’ Akhil OK was the coach. If a student does not attend classes that day, he or she is not allowed in the academy. Due to this condition, many have started going to school,” says the 24-year-old Vijitha. However, due to inadequate funds and the pandemic outbreak, the football academy had to shut down. This gave rise to the idea of Book Pira.
The building in which the library functions was once a haven for antisocial elements. “It was a house built under the LIFE Mission. However, when the residents moved out of the place, the structure stayed abandoned for some time. The tribal department took over the space and revamped the building. The painting was done by a team of artists led by Amal Thomas and Akhil Jacob,” says Vijitha.
Not enough
Vijitha admits that Book Pira is still in a dire state. “With our limited funds we built a door, provided a shelf for the books and a table. The one shelf is not enough and it is difficult to pick a book from the lot. The library lacks even basic facilities like chairs. The students sit on the corners and floors. The library now has over 2500 books. Since the books we received is the result of the contributions of many, the majority are in English. We need more Malayalam books. We need much more to give these students a better future,” says Vijitha.
Boosting confidence
The students now visit the libraries and spend time reading. In the evening, Vijitha takes a book from the library and conducts a reading session at the study centre. “I’ll give individual attention to the children. The students are hesitant to go to school as they are finding it difficult to read and write. Here, I teach them letters, make them read and also ask about their concerns. Now the students are interested to learn more. They also understand the importance of reading, and are eager to attend classes,” says Vijitha.