TEZU, 20 Jun: “PN Panicker’s life can teach us many things, as the challenges he faced to promote reading exist in Arunachal even now. Hence we must make best use of all libraries in the state to promote reading habit among our people,” said Lohit District Library & Information Officer Ing Raatan while addressing the National Reading Day celebration organised jointly by Tezu-based Bamboosa Library and Medo-based Forum of Library Activists (FLA) with the district library here on Thursday.
“Even grownups need the services of a library, and we have been doing house-to-house campaign in Tezu town to create awareness among mothers and elders,” she said, and expressed happiness that “several college students have been making very good use of the district library as a study centre during the last few months.”
FLA joint secretary Sakelu Chikro stressed the importance of parents’ guiding their children to take to reading at an early age. “Lohit Youth Libraries have therefore been conducting reading campaigns for the last 16 years with the motto, ‘If readers can’t come to books, books must go to readers’,” she said.
Stressing on the “urgent need to prepare and popularise reading materials in Arunachali languages,” Lohit Youth Library Network coordinator S Mundayoor lauded the Bamboosa Library activists “for coming together voluntarily and translating six pratham books in Kaman Mishmi language,” and expressed hope that “the youths of other language groups would also do the same.”
He spoke also about former VKVs secretary KK Venkatraman’s popular book, Walking with the Immortals, on his Narmada Parikrama experiences.
Senior volunteer Kathesi Kri spoke about how she rose from being a girl who could not read any English to emerge as a teacher and an avid reader of biographies.
The National Reading Day was celebrated also by APNE Library in Wakro, under the leadership of senior volunteer Nishanlu Kri.
At both libraries, many readers presented book readings and poem recitations in English, Hindi and Kaman Mishmi languages.
