Maharashtra expands ‘book village’ initiative after Bhilar’s success

“Bhilar has proven to be a benchmark for motivating people to take up reading. The government’s aim is to develop similar ventures in at least one village in every district of the state,” said Dr Shamkant Deore, director, Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha, Maharashtra.

Explaining how they plan to go about setting up book villages, Deore said the government authorities first identify villages with an adequate literature culture. “For instance, Amalner was home to Sane Guruji, who wrote the autobiography, Shyamchi Aai, considered one of the greatest tributes to a mother’s love. We are also looking at the tourism angle. Navegaon Bandh in Nagpur is already a known destination for tourists due to its natural beauty and setting up a book village there will bring in more visitors,” he said.

The Sanstha then partners with the gram panchayat and the sarpanch of the village, who in turn identify 10-15 homes which can stock the books and provide a reading-room kind of atmosphere, Deore said.

In Bhilar, the state’s Marathi language department had drawn up a collection of more than 15,000 books under different genres. These books were distributed among 25 houses in the village, which were given a fresh coat of paint to make them appear distinct from other houses. Today, the village has 35 houses which collectively hold 40,000 books.

The state’s Marathi language department had drawn up a collection of more than 15,000 books under different genres and distributed them among 25 houses. (Express Photo)

The Bhilar book village was conceptualised on similar lines to Britain’s Hay-on-Wye, a Welsh town noted for its book stores. Vinod Tawde, then state minister of cultural affairs, took the initiative to start the book village. Today, the village gets visitors from across the state and even from other parts of the country. Besides, schools make it a point to send their students to these home libraries. “Over the years, at least 5-6 lakh people have visited the village,” says Balaji Halde, project assistant, Bhilar Pustakache Gaav.

Avinash Pawar, a small scale industrialist from Murbad in Thane, recently visited Bhilar with his friends. “This is my first visit and I am really enchanted. We have heard such a lot about Pustakache Gaav and the work here is extremely relevant to preserve Marathi literature,” he said.

The village gets visitors from across the state and even from other parts of the country, and schools make it a point to send their students to these home libraries. (Express Photo)

Inspired by Bhilar, Pawar plans to start a similar initiative in Murbad. “It is a novel idea where villagers can provide space in their homes to encourage others to walk in and read. We hope to do something similar in Murbad,” he added.

Visitors troop in throughout the day at the home of Saraswati and Prashant Bhilare at Bhilar, many of them coming to see the vast collection of books on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. “We have close to 800 books on the great Maratha emperor,” says Prashant. And so, this charming hill station remains a haven where nature’s bounty and the joys of reading come together in harmony.