JOIN USWhen people 'turned books' at maiden session of Human Library
On Sunday evening, taboos were questioned and judgments were set aside at the first session of the Human Library in Bengaluru.
The Human Library, which originated in Denmark, allows one to ‘read’ the stories of people who have been stereotyped, misunderstood or have faced challenges in their lives.
The first session of the Bengaluru chapter was held in Lahe Lahe, Indiranagar, and ‘readers’ interacted with a drag queen, an HIV patient, a bisexual person and a polyamorous person among others.
Having lost his right leg in an accident a few days after his 17th birthday, Dhruv Batra felt he had much to share by being a book. “It was difficult to get my life back together but I took it as a challenge. If I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing because it has given me the drive to do better,” the software engineer and passionate swimmer said. He talked about the many swimathons he has completed and his dream to swim across the English Channel.
Organiser of the event, Ria Andrews explained that the idea is to break barriers and question preconceived notions we have about people around us. “For instance, one of our books is a person who is HIV positive. When you hear that, you assume certain things about the person and make judgments which could be far from the truth. The library is a chance to engage in conversation, instead of judging from a distance,” she said.
The first session had about 60 people apply to be books, from which eight were shortlisted. Over 300 people registered as readers. Ria said that more such session would be held in the coming months.
One of the readers, Aishwarya said, “I was in a session with a woman who talked about being polyamorous. I am dealing with similar issues in my life now and it was good to know that there are others, too.”
Another reader, Amith Nirgunarthy did not know what to expect when he went to ‘read’ the book about a drag queen. “It turned out to be really cool and interesting because this platform makes it easy to share. If I had met the same person in a coffee shop, they would not have opened up as they did here. I would have probably walked away, judging without understanding,” Amith said.