This 73-year-old librarian in Kerala walks 4 km every day to promote reading
Over the past 14 years, Umadevi Antharjanam has visited at least 220 houses in Budhannoor village in Kerala to distribute books and promote reading.
When was the last time you picked up a book, inhaled the heady scent between its pages, and got lost in its content? Struggling a bit? In today’s hyperactive world of social media, we have lost many habits that we had inculcated during our childhood, like playing outdoor games, taking part in dance or music classes, or losing ourselves in books and comics.
The decline in book-reading habits, especially among the youth, is so evident that Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu recently expressed concern over it. But one woman in Kerala is trying to change that.
Umadevi Antharjanam (Image: The Hindu)
Seventy-three-year-old Umadevi Antharjanam has taken to the streets and walks four-five kilometres every day to promote reading in Kerala. One can find her carrying a bag stuffed with books, along with an umbrella. So far, the avid reader has visited at least 220 houses in the past 14 years in Budhannoor village near Chengannur in Kerala.
Speaking to Matters India, Umadevi said,
“I reach the library by three in the evening to collect the books. Mostly children and women take books from me to read. In case of students, they inform me in advance which book they want. I collect it from the library and deliver to them.”
She says the library, which is located in the village, is stuffed with books on all subjects — fiction, non-fiction, and detective novels along with mythological books mostly read by the elderly.
The avid reader also makes sure that the library members actually read the book that she brings to them. She asks children to tell her what they learnt from the books when she goes back to collect them after a couple of weeks. With people having known Umadevi for over a decade, they now call her to let her know about which books they or their family members want to read.
She began doing rounds of the village, distributing books, and instilling book-reading habits after she was invited to work in the library by its president, Viswambharan Panicker.
Greeted by Shashi Tharoor (Image: Twitter)
She told English Mathrubhumi,
“Belonging to a Namboodiri community, I was not allowed to go out earlier. I got married when I was a BA student. The family I came into were strict followers of traditions and customs. I had earlier worked as a tuition teacher for more than 20 years. I used to go to tuition centres and teach students. But after my husband’s death 18 years ago, I struggled to make ends meet.”
To recognise her initiative and her love towards reading, Umadevi was honoured by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and former Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy.
(Edited by Kanishk Singh)
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