In a bid to encourage a reading habit among the young generation, a fruit vendor in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district has been gifting books to all of his customers. Any visitor who comes to buy fruits from this 63-year-old vendor receives a free book.
Khaja Moideen, hailing from Pookkara street in Thanjavur, has been running a fruit store just in front of his home for several years. It is said that locals refer to him as ‘Comrade’ since he was inspired by Communist ideologies, and ‘Thozhar Pazhakadai’ (translating to ‘Comrade Fruit Shop’ in English) is the name of his store.
“Unfortunately, my son passed away 11 years ago. I made the decision to share my book collection with people to start as a diversion from the incident. Then, it evolved to the satisfaction of giving free books to every customer. The majority of them are my regular customers," Khaja Moideen said.
He added that in an effort to raise awareness about the value of reading books, he has been giving away books like biographies of leaders, children’s stories, and Tamil-English dictionary for free to his customers.
“I merely completed my ninth-grade studies as my family circumstances prevented me from continuing my education. I have, however, been reading novels every day since my childhood. When I was younger, my family used to gift books to the visitors of sporting events conducted in the Pookkara Street neighborhood," Khaja Moideen said.
He added, “I encouraged my wife to do well in her studies after we got married. After experiencing numerous difficulties, my wife was appointed headmistress of a government school. My son is an advocate as well. I helped my wife and son do well at their studies. Thus, I have been providing books, and water bottles to customers for the past 11 years out of a desire to make them feel like family and inculcate the habit of reading in them," he said.
“Customers do not perceive me as a fruit vendor but as a parent, friend, companion, and grandfather. I have donated my entire body to Thanjavur Medical College after my death as I believe that people are vital and money is ephemeral," Moideen added with pride.
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