An old double-door refrigerator stationed near a roadside grocery store has been turned into an unlikely icon of literacy and learning among children in the Patuli region of South Kolkata. The creative
initiative was conceived by Kalidas Haldar, an English teacher, along with his wife Kumkum Haldar, where the useless refrigerator has been converted into a public library for free access to books.
The concept originated in the year 2021 during the Covid-19 outbreak.
When schools were closed, children spent their time using gadgets, and even students did not get any other books except for schoolbooks; Haldar planned to construct a library that would be accessible for all at no cost and be open-air.
However, the teacher preferred something easier than building a library.
The teacher couple cleaned out an old, unusable refrigerator, placed it near the Satyajit Ray park in Patuli Township, and filled it with around 500 books collected either from private sources or purchased.
It was simple. Anybody could walk up to the fridge, borrow a book and leave it back whenever they wished to do so. No membership charges, no fines, no membership card. Readers just needed to sign a register with their names and contact number before borrowing a book.
The collection took off quickly.
Dictionaries, novels, Bengali literary periodicals, comics for kids, the library had something for everyone of all ages. Locals started lending books after seeing children flocking around the fridge every day after sunset.
As per reports, Haldar invested nearly Rs 45,000 into buying books for the library in its early days.
His wife Kumkum assisted him in arranging and categorizing the books, while students lent helped with spreading information regarding the library.
The venture caught up on social networking sites too.
Pictures of the colorful fridge-turned-library went viral online, attracting more people from various parts of Kolkata and even beyond, besides donations of more books. Many people asked Haldar about setting up such a venture elsewhere.
Over time, the movement grew to encompass many refrigerators.
Based on latest reports, the movement has transformed into many free libraries within the state of West Bengal, including in the disadvantaged and Sundarbans area where no library had existed before.
Moreover, the library created by the fridge brought about a significant change in the way children accessed the books. It is reported that children who never visited libraries before now borrowed books frequently.
The roadside library eliminated all obstacles which prevented communities from getting access to the place of reading.
After many years since the installation of the first fridge library, it still stands in Kolkata as one of the most original reading movements in history.
From merely a single broken fridge to thousands of books, the movement developed around one central idea, every kid should get an opportunity to read.
