Maharashtra's first village of books comes up in Satara, plans now for 2nd one

MUMBAI: Maharashtra is all set to get its own village of books modelled on the lines of the famous Hay-On-Wye in Wales on May 4. That day, CM Devendra Fadnavis will inaugurate this book-lovers' delight in Bhilar village in Satara district which is close to both Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani.
Twenty-five bungalows in this small village, which lies in nature's lap and is well-known for its strawberry farms, will each house a library with books devoted to specific themes such as novels, poetry , children's literature, women's writings, biographies and autobiographies.These houses will also provide a bed and breakfast facility for tourists. The libraries can be accessed for free. Initially , 15,000 books in Marathi would be displayed in the 25 libraries, while English and Hindi books will be made available in the next three months.
The project is the brainchild of culture minister Vinod Tawde, who said he got the idea from the Hay-On-Wye festival where art enthusiasts can visit a host of galleries and book-lovers can visit thirtyplus bookshops at a single picturesque spot. The festival has played a big role in the development of the town as a tourist attraction.
“I wanted to create a village of this kind in the state, and I am happy it will be the country's first `village of books,' where over 15,000 books will be made available for book-lovers. We are planning to increase the number of books to 1.5 lakh. Not only Marathi books, in the next three months we are going to place famous English and Hindi books,“ Tawde said.
He said the state selected Bhilar as it is located close to tourist destinations. The state will train Bhilar locals on how to be good librarians, take care of books and communicate with tourists. The government has plans to create a second `village of books' in Malgund near Ganpatipule in a year.
TIMES VIEW :
This is a laudable initiative by the state government, and its culture ministry must be applauded for doing something good. But the real test will be in how the village is maintained and what kind of atmosphere it creates for book-lovers. The government should make the Bhilar model work and replicate it in other parts of Maharashtra.