Call it a library with books that talk, tell their own
stories and answer your questions.
The Human Library series, a concept that was born in
Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2000, will hit a new destination this month —
Bengaluru.
The unusual project coaxes people to “not judge a book by
its cover” and instead initiate conversations.
Browse through titles
The discussions, which have journeyed through New Delhi,
Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai, will have the same format in the Bengaluru
edition as well. People will register for it stating why they are interested in
‘being a book’. Those who pass the filters will get to set what their own title
will be, and themselves become the human book.
At the event, “readers” — people who are interested to
listen to these “books,” will browse through the ‘titles’, pick one and start
‘reading’ them through a conversation.
The minimum age for participants, both as the human books
and readers, is 18. The event itself will last about half a day, said Roshni
Ross, an organiser at the Bengaluru event, adding that the response to the call
for “books” had been good.
Choosing identities
“Those who are interested in reading can pick their book
and converse with it sitting across for 20 to 30 minutes,” she said.
Though general feedback will be collected, the
“end-result” would be to “break the bridge between what is known and what it
really is,” she said.
The event is about discrimination and identities. Samples
of titles that the parent Human Library offers include “Unemployed,” “Autism
Spectrum Disorders,” “Convert,” “Homeless,” “Soldier (PTSD),” “Sexually abused”
and “Refugee.”
With each city having its own discrimination priorities,
the titles range from gender normative and transgenders to Dabbawala in
Mumbai.
The stories narrated give readers a new perspective and
broaden their horizons.
It was at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark that the Human
Library (Menneskebiblioteket in Danish) made its debut, as an eight-hours-a-day,
four-day event featuring over 50 ‘titles’.
Source: THE HINDU-4th August-2017
