Manipur: A gift of books, a hopeful page to turn

With unreliable mobile internet connections and no suitable place at home to study for competitive exams, many job aspirants in Manipur are visiting private libraries, which offer them both facilities at a low cost.

Amid the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo communities, which killed over 260 people and rendered thousands homeless in the state, these libraries have been flourishing for the last two to three years regardless, serving the needs of job-seekers, readers and owners of these facilities said.

Unlike traditional libraries stocked with extensive academic collections, these private spaces offer magazines, study materials for competitive examinations and wi-fi internet connections and provide a calm, comfortable environment where visitors can focus on reading books they bring themselves.

Th. Abemma, a government job aspirant in Imphal, was found reading books and surfing the internet at a private library to prepare herself for the state civil service exams, while Laishram Victor, a graduate, was busy studying for CDS tests at another such facility.

Like Abemma and Victor, there are many job aspirants who are preparing for competitive exams at 40 such private libraries in the Imphal area and the Kakching district, as they have a "poor environment for reading" at their homes, with many suffering from frequent internet shutdowns amid ethnic violence in the state, the stakeholders said.

The new culture of reading books and accessing the internet at a common space has taken shape in the past two years with the emergence of private libraries, catering to the needs of those who do not have separate rooms for study at their residence, said Victor, who completed his graduation from West Bengal's Darjeeling in 2023 and visits a library on a daily basis from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. to prepare for SSC and CDS exams.

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"Three years ago, there were just fewer than five private libraries or reading spaces in Imphal. Many of my friends and I could not book a seat at these facilities as seats were limited. That's how a friend of mine and I came up with the idea of setting up a library to cater to the needs of readers, especially those who have completed their studies and are preparing for different national-level exams," Books and Brain co-founder A. Mayanglambam told PTI.

A majority of the visitors in their library in Imphal's Keisampat area, with a seating capacity of 92, are those preparing for NEET exams and other national-level competitive tests, he said.

"Many of them do not have the leisure time to read novels. And hence, I concentrated mostly on providing a comfortable reading space and didn't think of stocking too many books," Mayanglambam, who himself is preparing for banking exams, added.

Charging monthly fees ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,300, more than 40 private libraries have sprouted in the last two or three years in the Imphal area and Kakching district, all catering to the needs of readers, said Johnson Yumnam, who runs My Reading Room at Ghari.

"The private library boom in Imphal stems from a poor reading environment at home. The libraries are mostly frequented by job aspirants who find it difficult to concentrate on their studies at home. Since most of them have completed their education, they also find a level of competitiveness when they visit the libraries," Yumnam told PTI.

A library culture has existed in Manipur for decades, but space is very limited. After the Covid pandemic and the ethnic conflict, there has been a sudden surge of interest in private libraries, however, several owners said.

The interest in these libraries is also linked to an increasing number of Manipuri youths taking a keen interest in national exams, including SSC, banking and UPSC, they said.

"Many of the families in Imphal live in congested areas, and youths often have to share rooms with their siblings and elders. The private libraries provide an atmosphere to connect with other aspirants and discuss on the strategies to prepare for national-level exams. Studying at home can make one feel isolated as well and so they come here to connect with their peers who share similar objectives," Yumnam added.

The facilities provided by the private libraries, such as reliable internet, are another factor that has attracted many readers.

Abemma, a state civil service aspirant who recently cleared prelims and will appear for the mains exam, said, "The state has often witnessed internet shutdowns and regular power cut-offs. Private libraries provide free wi-fi facilities by obtaining permits from government authorities in times of internet ban and the rooms are fully air-conditioned. This also makes the aspirants enroll at the private libraries as well."

"At some libraries, cafes are also attached to provide brief recreation for the readers, and this makes these facilities more attractive for readers," she added.

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