18 July,2023 07:43 AM IST | Mumbai | Pooja Patel
Children enjoy books at Kitab Utsav that was conducted in Rajasthan a few days ago. Pics courtesy/Trivikram Sharma
What better way to spend a rainy weekend than book shopping which also contributes to a noble cause? This weekend, Share a Book India Association (SABIA), a Kota-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), is bringing its annual literary festival Kitab Utsav, to the city. The event will offer participants a variety of pre-owned books (young adults and adults' categories). The books on sale at this event are all pre-owned, and have been donated by Good Samaritans during the NGO's book donation drives.
Srishti Parihar, co-founder and director of SABIA, says that they sell pre-loved books to raise funds, which helps them further the good cause; and also to create awareness about their work. "We have been working to set up free libraries for underprivileged children in government schools and so far we have managed to organise it in 175 schools across 16 states and three Union territories," she informs. In Mumbai, they have partnered with 14 schools, and have set up a community library in Santacruz, in collaboration with a city-based NGO called Share.
The idea behind this cause is that every child should have access to books, and the opportunity to read what they want to, and so free libraries are the best possible way to achieve this. "We started from Kota, and our work has now spread across the nation only through the power of our volunteers," she says. There's more to this event than just books. One can buy SABIA's merchandise like tote bags and bookmarks; participate in the hour-long storytelling sessions by voiceover and dubbing artistes Vishal Menon and Renu Sharda; participate in fun literature quizzes and games, or tuck into delicious fare offered by small
scale businesses.
On July 22 and 23, 12 pm to 9 pm
At Bombay YMCA (Bandra Branch), Khar Danda Centre, plot no 308 and 423, Khar West.
Log on to @shareabookindia
Free
