Satabdi Mishra and Akshaya Bahibala’s love for the written word is taking them across India in a Maruti Eeco full of poetry books. As part of their two-month-long ‘Poems on the Road’ tour (ending on February 13), the duo, under the Walking Book Fair banner, are travelling 10,000 km across the country to make books more accessible to those who cannot afford it.
Fittingly, the duo from Bhubaneswar, met in 2014 at a book shop, and connected on their common love. They started their own independent publishing company and began running a book store and library in the city. “We do not have many libraries in India, reading is still a niche activity, and books are limited,” says Satabdi. Also, they found that there was a declining interest in literature among young people. “We are not reading anything apart from our curriculum books and not relating with other human emotions. Reading different kinds of literature tells us about every aspect of life. We are also ignoring the fact that the number of book shops and libraries is going down.”
They could not afford a vehicle or space to display books and began walking with a bag full of books (hence the name Walking Book Fair). Their first destination was the tribal district Koraput in Odisha, where they displayed books on the footpath. Their first bookmobile was a 20-year second-hand Maruti Omni van, an ambulance which got a makeover, and they took it across Odisha with Odia books, picture books for children, fiction and non-fiction.
Van full of poetry books | Photo Credit: By arrangement
For their ‘Read More India’, the duo went on a pan-Indian tour in 2015 in a Force Kargo King truck with customised book shelves. The three-month tour took off from Bhubaneswar and they drove through 20 states of India (barring the north-eastern states) with 5,000 books. “We travelled across small towns and villages and colleges across India, to take books to different kinds of people. Some of the books we carried were not even available in bookshops,” recalls Satabdi.
Their travels are self-funded and they have no other means of livelihood except selling books! They travel whenever possible and when they’re not on the road, their bookmobile is parked outside their book store.
Since Akshaya cannot drive, Satabdi is the lone driver on these road trips. She will be completing 35,000 km after this tour. “We travel around 500 km every day.” Thankfully, there have been no accidents. “Being on the road teaches you to be humble, patient, and put the other person before yourself.” So far, they have not faced any technical difficulties with the Maruti Eeco, but had their share of adventure with the earlier truck and Maruti Omni van. They survived a radiator burst in Pune and the Maruti Omni van’s brake failure on a Ghat road in Koraput, Odisha.
Satabdi has also learnt to handle the curious stares and comments by passers-by when she drives the truck. “Earlier, I would get irritated, but now I just smile, wave and ask them to come and read books.”