Living, breathing books tell tales

Over 200 people turn up for the 41st event of Human Library-Hyderabad

Visitors interacting with a ‘human book’ during the 41st event of Human Library-Hyderabad at the British Council in Jubilee Hills on Sunday.

Holidays are ideal for curling up with a book, but what if you could strike a meaningful conversation with it? Over 200 persons who walked into the British Council’s library in Jubilee Hills on Sunday had the unique opportunity to read flesh-and-blood books.

At the 41st event of Human Library-Hyderabad, human beings were the books, opening up, layer by layer, important aspects of their lives that they would otherwise hesitate to share. Surrounded by bookshelves, sets of three or more persons sat at each table to listen to a human book talk. Often, they laughed, squirmed or asked questions and the book readily had answers.

Unlike other libraries where maintaining silence is a rule, this one has a signboard which reads 'No Silence Please!’

A catalogue listed nine books, including ‘Mothering LGBTQ Children’, ‘Don’t ‘Dis’ my Abilities’, ‘Erotica Writer’ and ‘Foodie to Food Addict — Crossing the thick line’. After registering their name against the human book they were interested to read, one was allotted 30 minutes to sit with the ‘book’, ask questions and then move on to another one.

Chapters of their lives

Title of the human book was followed by a brief description. For instance, Mothering LGBTQ Children read: “As a mother of a single child, I had dreams like most other parents until one day, my son told me of his dream. That moment marked the beginning of a new journey for me”. During the session, human book Mala talked about her son coming out to her, how she coped with it, understanding LGBTQ community etc.

Speaking about the kind of impact the session has on people, founder and book depot manager of Human Library-Hyderabad, Harshad Fad said he saw readers returning with moist eyes and the human books too experienced profound impact.

When a domestic abuse survivor who narrated her story was asked for feedback, she told Harshad that there still are people with a heart and she wants to live for herself too, not just for her kids.

Some readers keep returning to the sessions and some become part of the library. A librarian at the Human Library, Shashank Yeleti said, “When I visited the library for the first time, I read all human books from morning to evening, and eventually joined it.” The event is held once a month.