There was this rather dismal and dingy room, but a strategically placed one in our community. Huge, black drainpipes ran along the entrance door while additional pipes hung low from the ceiling inside. We splashed the primary colours on the entrance pipes and worked a bit on the ceiling and got this.
Pic 1 and 2:
Encased electrical wires were painted brown and a few leaves added and we were close to Blyton’s Faraway tree.
Pic 3 and 4:
Two kids on the block sealed their handprints on a panel wall and an old amateur painting found its way to the adjacent wall.
Pic 5 and 6:
And the final touch was a copy of Rodin’s Thinker on a restored front entrance door.
Pic 7:
Shelves were accommodated, 787 books (donated entirely by residents of gated community) were coded and lined and Bookspace was launched.
Pic 8:
This was in the year 2015 in the month of June. Today Bookspace has over 1500 titles and a readership of over 200 resident-members. There is the toddler who lisps through her first nursery rhyme and story with parental help, the voracious 10-year-old who races from Geronimo Stilton to Enid Blyton to Roald Dahl, the young teenager who is eager to step with Rowling into the Harry Potter dimension and most interestingly, the seventy-five-year-old gentleman who simply can’t get enough of a Grisham or an Archer. The lure of books and their magical bind have certainly seen a significant revival at Boulevard.
And more recently, Bookspace has become a pivot of activity. It is the comfort zone for the youngster to indulge in a quiet-time read. It is a space where we adults ideate, plan events and debate. From Thirukural classes to newsletter editing to after-dinner practice sessions for musical events, this tiny space hosts thought and creativity, bonding and bonhomie. But above all, it remains a nook that we can walk into, pick up a book, stride the world of a thousand different authors and traverse the thought span of the modern and the classic.
A lot has to be said for the gated community that houses over 900 residents. The generosity of our residents, the vision of a dynamic committee member, a core group that seeded the idea, a dedicated band of volunteers who put their best foot forward have together turned what appeared to be a pipe dream into a reality.
(Ragini Raj is a resident of Ceebros Boulevard)
