The human and humane side of books
A library that lets you borrow human beings, hear their stories, and dispel prejudices, writes Samali Basu Guha
Going to the library for a reading session is normal. But have you ever thought of going to the library and borrowing a “human” book?
Now you can, in Indore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and other places across India.
With a tagline of “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” the Human Library is a concept where instead of borrowing a book you can borrow a human being for 20 minutes and hear their story and ask questions, thereby dispelling prejudices and leaving the participants with a wider perspective. The library takes into account certain pillars of prejudices — race, sex, age, disability, sexual preference, gender identity, class, religion and belief and lifestyle choices, among others.
The first-ever Human Library was started in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2000, to challenge prejudices against social contact among people. Run by Ronni Abergel, Asma Mouna, Christoffer Erichsen and Dany Abergel, the organisation is currently active in over 60 countries. The first event ran four days with eight hours of conversations each day. More than 1,000 readers took out a “human book”.
“It is a conversation platform. Books are limited in their interactions. Human Library takes it to the next level,” says Neha Singh, the Delhi Chapter’s book depot manager. “The book and the reader do not know each other socially and do not have a context to form biases. Hence it is easier to interact,” she adds. The Delhi chapter was launched in March 2017.
“People from all walks of life participate in the event,” says Harshad Fad, book depot manager of the Hyderabad chapter. “They talk about issues pertinent to the urban context. When you're in a one-on-one conversation, you tend to be more accepting of opposing viewpoints, more willing to discuss rather than dismiss.”
So how are the human books prepared for the event? “There are around 30 members in the library. To begin with, we note down prejudices and identify people. Then we train them in a certain way so that they are able to talk about issues in a comfortable manner,” says Fad.
One can also fill up a form on the depot’s site and ask questions, and then take up the role of an organiser or a book, depending on preferences. People interested in taking up the role of a depot manager need to apply for a licence to Ronni Abergel. Profession is not a criterion. Singh runs a chain of schools in Haryana; Fad is a community manager with Kahaniya.com.
As far as books are concerned, “one has to make sure that the subject makes a positive impact,” adds Fad. “It is a liberating experience for books as well,” says Singh.
“A book from one of our events, who spoke about domestic violence, told me after the event how she was contemplating suicide earlier. But meeting so many strangers and sharing her story changed her perspective completely,” says Fad.
“You can inspire and feel good about yourself,” says Zara (name changed), a 25-year-old human book. Having spent a troubled childhood in Afghanistan, Zara travelled to Pakistan along with her family. A chance encounter with the Talibans proved to be a nightmare — her father was abducted and the family subject to torture. “We saw things probably no human could ever dream of,” recalls Zara. Education proved to be the way forward, but the wounds were too deep to heal.
“What matters is that we have choices. What we do and become in the end is our choice,” she adds, a message she wants to get across to as many people as possible.
And Human Library is an effective way of doing so. “Books have limited number of pages. Human Library is a genre where I can share my story. It is real-time conversation,” says Zara, who now calls herself a public speaker by profession.
And what about readers?
“Once there was this reader, a doctor by profession who was going through heartbreak. He wanted to leave everything behind and settle in the Himalayas. Interaction with one of the books helped change his perspective completely. He still wanted to go, but this time to help people access medical facilities in the far away Ladakh,” says Singh.
“One of our books, titled Break the Silence on Child Sexual Abuse told me that so many of her readers had gone through sexual abuse in their childhood, but were unable to open up before their families. Taking to the ‘book’ was a liberating experience,” adds Fad.
“I knew a little about the concept. And I am really shy talking to people I don't know. So when I heard about Human Library from a friend, I decided to check it out. I thought I will get to meet new people and listen to their stories,” recalls Natasha Patel, a Delhi University student and one of the readers who attended the event last year in Delhi.
“I went there out of sheer curiosity. It turned out to be a totally new and unique experience. It opened a whole new world in front of my eyes. Since the ‘subject’ was human, it sounded more real,” adds Oindrilla Dey, a software professional.