At Bangalore's Human Library, You Can Read People Instead Of Books

A human library is a novel concept in which readers can borrow ‘human books’ from different backgrounds and experiences to learn from them. Bangalore now has a Human Library club, whose events you can check out.

The idea of human libraries had first begun in Denmark and has spread its story across the world. The idea is unique yet simple in its inception: instead of physical books, you can go and read a library of different people with whom you can have conversations, or in figurative terms, ‘read’.

The ‘books’ or people chosen to be part of a human library each come with different experiences and have have been the subject of some sort of prejudice or discrimination in society. They will each narrate personal stories that you can listen to.

Through stories, conversations and questions, we, as readers, can then gain a much wider, firmer and more human knowledge of topics which we are distant from and appreciate them. The titles of ‘books’ are not based on the names of the people but on the subject matter they will narrate. That could be ‘Blind’, ‘Police Officer’, ‘Cancer Survivor’, ‘Refugee’ or ‘Dabbawala’.

You can then ‘check out’ the human book, have a session with him/her and engage in conversation. The talk can end whenever the book or the reader wishes.

A community in Bangalore called The Human Library Bangalore has opened its chapter in the city and is going to host regular events in bookshops, libraries and other spaces. Before an event, they will open applications for people who want to become the human books, which could be someone with a story to share. The rest are welcome to join in as readers to be part of the experience.

We are utterly intrigued as to how the reading experience transforms when it becomes a two-way relationship and the book comes to life with intangible emotions. If you find this interesting as well, follow their Facebook page and keep checking the list of contents.