The Unlikely Librarian
Books have been the answers to questions in ways conversations can never be. In the side lanes of Dal Lake, Srinagar, we meet an unlikely librarian who without knowing how to read or write any language, has successfully run a travellers library for generations.His 600 books, seem more of a collection of his life stories and the people he has met along the way. I can’t help but to see that his passion for books is really the passion for people and their stories. Driven by turning bound pages into flesh and heart.
““This library with the books and memories that come with it, is the treasure I’m building for my children. To remind them about the world they can explore with the power of alphabets. All these books, not only remind me of what I have lost in my life but also of what I have gained and what I’m grateful for.””
““A man can do whatever he puts his mind to. Sometimes, I get startled as to how I can run a library without knowing how to read, but I’ve shown that it is possible by asking myself, ‘what if…” ”