mahino ab mulakaat nahi hoti,
jo shaamein unki sohbat mein kata karti thi, ab aksar
guzar jaati hain pc ke pardon par..”
Among the many many giant frames with inspirational quotes that adorn the pillars of a brand new public library in Gurgaon, is one by Gulzar that describes in slightly evocative phrases, the quiet longing by books to be learn at a time when most readers spend their days in entrance of pc screens. Anuradha Sehgal, world head of branding and CSR on the IT firm Coforge, factors to the quote as she talks in regards to the precept behind the new library they’ve opened in the midst of a company park. “We’re welcoming you again to books and studying, and supplying you with the area to indulge on this very particular person pursuit of data,” says Sehgal.
After receiving a constructive response to its initiative of a public library in Noida, Coforge launched a second such area in Gurgaon’s Badshahpur on Sohna Street. Unfold out over 15,000 sq. ft, the library boasts of round 16,000 titles from all in style genres, together with fiction, non-fiction, journey, spirituality, enterprise, self-help, youngsters’s books, and extra. Its decor – comfortable pink, blue and gray upholstery, flooring that absorbs noise, and huge home windows that enable daylight to stream in copious quantities – has been accomplished fastidiously, preserving in thoughts a single goal: to create an environment of calm.
“Every thing is in-built a technique to depart the chaos behind,” explains Sehgal. The library doesn’t enable laptops contained in the studying area and has only a few charging factors. Neither work nor espresso can observe a reader into the world. The pure goal for anybody to stroll in, says Sehgal, can be to learn and spend time with oneself.
For Sehgal, studying is an exercise that requires huge self-discipline in in the present day’s fast-paced life. On the identical time, she believes it’s the type of pursuit that shouldn’t be restricted to a particular class of individuals. Accordingly, the library is freed from price for all. “Anybody can stroll in and skim with out being obliged to grow to be a member,” says Sehgal. “The world of studying is equally empowering for all.” She says that one of many guiding ideas of making the area was for it to be aspirational for everybody, however not intimidating to anybody.
Its decor – comfortable pink, blue and gray upholstery, flooring that absorbs noise, and huge home windows that enable daylight to stream in copious quantities – has been accomplished fastidiously, preserving in thoughts a single goal: to create an environment of calm. (Categorical Photograph by Adrija Roychowdhury)
Since June 7, when the library first opened its doorways, it has been receiving a footfall of about 250 individuals each day. Deepak Sharma, the pinnacle librarian, says they’ve been welcoming numerous homemakers together with youngsters. Among the many books most generally learn are those on girls’s points and from the kids’s part.
Story continues under this advert
Company staff and college students are frequent guests on the library. Ruchika, 43, an IT skilled who was visiting the library on a Friday afternoon, says that she discovered about its launch by way of a submit on a social media web site. “Since it’s a part of a company park, individuals can simply drop by right here throughout lunch hours, or after workplace,” she says, whereas flipping by way of a replica of Wings of Fireplace by former president and missile man of India, A P J Abdul Kalam. She says that she typically reads at residence, however the Coforge library seemed to be a snug area, prompting her to attempt it out. “Most public libraries usually are not effectively maintained, which is commonly a hindrance for individuals who need to learn for leisure,” she says.
Maintaining in thoughts the totally different work and life schedules of readers, the library is stored practical on all seven days, between 9 am and eight pm. Sehgal notes that at current there are near 50,000 public libraries in India. The best advice, as per the Worldwide Federation of Library Affiliation, is to have no less than one library for each 3,000 individuals, she says, including, “It implies that India at current wants about 4.5 lakh public libraries.”
Creating extra such areas the place individuals can merely learn is the necessity of the hour, Sehgal says. “On the identical time, our goal is to create a top-notch area that’s welcoming and comfy, in order that the library is most well-liked over another place of leisure one would slightly be in.”