From tea stall to a free library: This 74-year-old woman is an inspiration to many

When Bhimabai Jondhale, a woman running a small tea stall, noticed that her customers were often glued to their phones while waiting for their tea, she decided to encourage a more engaging atmosphere.

Having always loved reading herself but never having had the opportunity, Jondhale decided to reintroduce the habit of reading to her customers.

This marked the beginning of Ajjichya Pustakancha Hotel (Grandmother’s Hotel and Books) in 2015.

Nestled along the National Highway 3 between Mumbai and Agra, the eatery is filled with people, the aroma of food, and a plethora of books.

Started by 74-year-old Jondhale, fondly known as Aaji, the eatery offers free books to read. The place currently has over 5,000 books in three different languages—Marathi, Hindi, and English.

The struggle

Jondhale who hails from Khatwad village in Nashik was married when she was in class 6. Though she had been fond of reading and studying, she could not continue it after marriage.

Life with an alcoholic husband wasn’t easy.

“I remember, he used to wake up and start drinking. We had more than 20 acres of land which he sold off to get money for alcohol. We were left with only 2 acres of land,” Pravin tells HerStory.

During this time, Jondhale found herself alone. But her love for her son and the responsibility of tending to the family, kept her going.

Pravin praises his mother and adds that she was a multi-tasker as she used to look after the family and take care of the farm. However, things got worse when a factory was opened near their land. As a result of the chemicals seeping in the land, their produce suffered.

She tried to take up the problem with the local panchayat however no support was given to her. With no other means of income, she made the decision to sell both the produce and the land, and start a tea stall near the highway.

In the same area, she started a tea stall in 2010 which later became a book hotel.

"My relatives used to taunt me for starting a tea stall and for making my son work. Moreover, people laughed at the idea of running a book hotel. But none of this stopped me from moving forward,” Jondhale adds.

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Serving food for thought

Pravin elaborates that his father did not support his education and urged him to quit after completing 10th grade. Yet, it was his mother who encouraged him to continue with his studies. Despite financial challenges, Pravin took up selling newspapers to support his education and contribute to the family's income.

He completed his master's in journalism and began working at a local newspaper. Later he left his job and started a small publishing house.

Now, in addition to running the publishing house, he assists his mother in managing the eatery.

The eatery started with just 50 books but now has over 5,000. Jondhale explains that initially, they had kept only Marathi books but seeing the success of the initiative they started keeping Hindi, and English books as well. In the beginning, they used their books but later people started donating as well.

“We started encouraging people to pick up a book and read while we cook their meal,” she adds.

The eatery also gives free books on special occasions such as Women’s Day and Republic Day to foster a habit of reading among people. They also have started distributing free books to hospitals.

“The book hotel is a social cause and we are not running it from a commercial point of view,” Jondhale adds.

Talking about the impact of their initiative, Pravin further says that about 100 people visit daily and most of them do read books while they await their orders.

Every day, Jondhale tries to read a few pages before going to bed or during the time when she is not occupied with work.

“I could not study much in my younger days but when I see people come to the eatery and read, it makes me feel happy,” Jondhale says.