News, updates and musings about the library, reading and the wider community from members, volunteers and staff
Nine of them squatted in a circle. Our library members aged 9 – 13. Each one of them had a message to deliver. They stood up in turns, faced the imaginary audience and spoke about gender, rights, consent, and sexual health. It was Anju’s turn. “Parivar ek tarah ke nahi, kai tarah ke hote hai. […]
Spiti Valley is a cold desert mountain region. Located at an altitude of 3,800 mts above sea level, it is considered inaccessible by many. The place is cut off for almost 8 months in a year. Let’s Open a Book is currently working with over 25 government primary schools in this area, helping them set […]
Tushar pushes against weight. He might be eight or nine years old, wiry, muscled. He has a large head with lashes of disproportionate length, even for his large eyes. He insists he will read “this book,” and only “this book.” On this day, “this book” is the thickest of the volumes in the Harry Potter series […]
It was afternoon, the sun was pouring in, and my then three year old was resisting his nap. I was next to him, nearly asleep. ‘It’s called pat pat love,’ he said as he patted me. He sounded a little bit surprised and a little bit proud: ‘Amma, I have invented a new kind of […]
By Aditya Mani Jha Held at TCLP - Agrasar Ace journalist Neha Dixit visited TCLP-Agrasar yesterday, and held a masterclass for the attending children (and some adults as well!). Neha’s award-winning longform stories have been published in The Caravan, Outlook, The Wire and several other leading Indian publications. From the outset, it was clear that […]
By Priiya Swapn Most of my school life was spent running small errands for akkas in return for dried fish, sleeping in hot sand, following the moon’s orbit in the night, and swimming towards the setting sun hoping to catch it. My school was in the middle of a fishing community and I was mostly […]
By Kamal Gola I studied in government schools throughout where the focus was mostly on studies. After school I would spend a few hours assisting my father with his business. That window allowed me to try reading borrowed newspapers in English. I was greatly influenced by comics in Hindi and had a habit of sketching […]
By Pallavi Shrivastava It’s been close to one year since I started volunteering my time at the Nai Kiran Universal School in my neighborhood in Gurugram, NCR. Initially, my family could not understand why I had to go so often. They said give more time to family and your son. Sometimes they said I should […]
Anshika, age 12, is a young member at TCLP-Sikanderpur, Gurugram. After reading a book about Malala Yousafzai, she felt an ugent desire to reach out to her. This is her letter. Hello Malala ma'am, My name is Anshika and I've read a book on you. After reading the book I felt very happy. When I […]
Hello, I am Vaani Dua, an architect by profession and a teacher by choice. I would like to share with you how I started a small library at my place for the kids in my community and how much is it giving back to me. I grew up in a middle class family where academics […]
