A library inside an autorickshaw: ‘I want people to get back to books’

It's been two years since Prashant Kamble retrofitted his vehicle with a small shelf where he keeps Marathi books, mostly works of literature, so that his passengers can enter the world of reading.

According to Kamble, his passengers were wary of picking up the books during the Covid months. (Express)

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A library inside an autorickshaw: ‘I want people to get back to books’

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Prashant Kamble’s decision to start a small library inside his autorickhaw was born out of love – and worry. His love for reading, and the worry that the world around him was not reading enough.

It’s been two years now since this 35-year-old part-time theatre artiste, who drives an autorickshaw for a living, retrofitted his vehicle with a small shelf where he keeps Marathi books, mostly works of literature, so that his passengers can enter the world of reading. “I want people to get back to books. We are all stuck to our mobile phones these days,” Kamble said.

Before the Covid crisis shook the world, Kamble had devoted his life to the stage. But when the pandemic struck, Kamble, like many others from the stage, was dealt a severe blow. “Overnight, there was no work. We had an autorickshaw of our own, so I decided to start driving that,” he said.

On February 27, 2021, he fitted his autorickshaw with a small shelf full of books. “That was the birthday of Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar, or Kusumagraj, the famous Marathi poet, and I inaugurated my mobile library outside the Balbharati building,” he said.

“Since childhood, I have been in love with the world of literature. When I started driving the autorickshaw, I used to spend my time between rides reading books. The world of literature is so fascinating. But I saw people drifting away from it. Most of my passengers were immersed in their mobile phones,” he said.

Kamble’s idea was simple: “During the journey, let the passengers touch and feel the books. It will get them to start reading.” His library includes works of Kusumagraj, Pu La Deshpande, Acharya Vinoba Bhave and other icons. “I have not seen the inside of a college, but reading comes naturally to me,” he said.

According to Kamble, his passengers were wary of picking up the books during the Covid months. “But when the scare subsided, people started picking them up. Some were curious while others just got immersed. It was a new experience. But all of them were impressed that an autorickshaw driver had opened a library,” he said. So much so, he said, “many of them donated books”.

“At times, some passengers ask if they can borrow books from the library. All I ask is for them to pass on the book to someone else so that the habit of reading spreads,” he said.