Mumbai : Hundreds of voracious readers turned up with bags full of books at ‘Book Swap’ organized by Tata Literature Live (TLL) on Saturday to swap their read books against new books available at counter.
The event was organized as part of spreading the spirit of sharing and taking literature to everyone. There was no set limit for the number of books that could be exchanges or any condition of price.
Reena Agrawal, a member of managing committee of TLL, said, “In the recent years, we have forgotten the habit of sharing our books with friends. Everyone buys new books. It was our unique experiment to encourage habit of sharing treasure of knowledge.”
“We had around 500 books and a few people had donated their collection to TLL. So, our desk started with close to 600 books. Lots of people turned up with their old books and took away whichever book they wished to read. The counter was busy the whole day and books were constantly changing hands. While everyone got books they wished for, at the end of the day, 600 odd books were still there. It was like magic,” she said.
Anil Dharkar, one of the founding members of TLL, had donated his collection of books.
Sunita Nair, a student of English literature who had come to swap her books, said, “I had come with my old collection which I had read more than twice. I deposited my old collection and took an equal number of other books which I was looking for. When I showed my new books to my old friend, she saw that she had deposited those books some time ago.” She said that the experience was eye opening for her and she would continue the habit of exchanging books with friends.
Suvansh Lalwani, student of National Academy of Even Management who was a volunteer at the Book Swap desk, said, “Around 200 people had come with bags full of books.”
