2,000 km in 30 days: NBT's 'bookshop on wheels' is at Kashi Tamil Sangamam

The bus-turned-bookshop is grabbing eyeballs at the month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam at BHU campus in Varanasi

Thirty days, more than 2,000 km, 600 book titles and two people managing a bus-turned-bookshop -- the display and sale of "books on wheels" are grabbing eyeballs at the month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam at the BHU campus here.

The bus left for a month-long journey from Delhi on November 15, a day before the mega conclave began.

Navigating the lanes of Varanasi to reach hotspots, visiting various schools and multiple places at the Banaras Hindu University campus, the bus was stationed at a different location everyday to help visitors enjoy the collection of books inside.

The unique library-cum-bookshop is an initiative by the National Book Trust, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education.

"We have travelled over 2000 km so far and today is the last day post which the bus will return to Delhi. We had overwhelming response from students and public. Books worth over Rs 4 lakh have been sold during the journey and we have also received orders for certain books which were available in limited quantity," Satyapal Singh from NBT, who is in charge of the bus, told PTI.

"The titles were carefully chosen keeping the target audience in mind. We short-listed 600 titles and took multiple copies of the books. The titles were displayed in a library format and at one point at least 10 persons can board the bus and look for books," he added.

Singh described that the locations where the bus would be parked for the day were also chosen strategically.

"There were certain days when lots of students from other colleges were scheduled to visit BHU during the Sangamam, we decided to park at their particular event venue to attract more people. The response from the visits to the schools was also very good," he said.

The month-long event concluding on Friday was organised to rediscover, reaffirm and celebrate age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Kashi two of the country's most important and ancient seats of learning.

The programme was organised by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with other ministries like culture, textiles, railways, tourism, food processing, information and broadcasting, and the Uttar Pradesh government.

Aditi Tiwari, an Economics students at BHU, said she found the concept so unique that she was tempted to explore the collection.

"One day I saw the bus from my hostel balcony and wondered what it is. Next day when I saw it parked near the amphitheatre, I boarded the bus and it was wonderful inside. I bought two politics related books," she said.

Her thoughts were echoed by Satish Jaiswal, a school student who had visited BHU campus to participate in a debate competition during the Kashi Tamil Sangamam.

"I was carrying pocket money to buy snacks since there were interesting food stalls but I ended up spending it on books since the collection was nice. We also took photographs with the bus," he said.

More than 2,500 delegates from Tamil Nadu under 12 categories such as students, teachers, literature, culture, artisans, spiritual, heritage, business, entrepreneurs, and professionals visited Varanasi on an eight-day tour.

A month-long exhibition of handlooms, handicrafts, books, documentaries, cuisine, art forms, history, and tourist places of the two regions was put up in Varanasi for the benefit of local residents.