Human library makes city debut offers life stories to curious readers

  • | Monday | 16th July, 2018

"The unique concept, believed to have first begun in Denmark , has become popular in Indian cities such as Delhi and Hyderabad. BHUBANESWAR: Imagine a book that sits in front of you and answers all your questions. I had many questions about the kind of response gay people get from their family, friends and the society when they decide to come out. I enjoyed the session and no one asked me anything that could be seen as humiliating or strange. "After getting such a positive response, we are planning to make this an annual event," he added.The former sex worker, who was a victim of human trafficking and sought anonymity, said, "We shared some of the most difficult moments of our life with these unknown readers.

BHUBANESWAR: Imagine a book that sits in front of you and answers all your questions. The city was witness to something like this as a 'human library', where readers can 'borrow' a person for about 20 minutes, listen to their stories and quench their curiosity about any subject, unfolded at the Bhubaneswar Poetry Club on Sunday.As many as 250 readers belonging to different age groups turned up at the daylong event in which 10 'human books' from diverse backgrounds narrated their stories.Stristi Chaudhury, a student who 'read' the experiences of a homosexual abuse survivor, said, "This was a unique experience. I had many questions about the kind of response gay people get from their family, friends and the society when they decide to come out. I found the interaction to be emotional."The other 'human books' were a bisexual person who survived clinical depression, a hearing impaired woman entrepreneur, a transgender civil servant, an alcohol abuse survivor, an acid attack survivor, a victim of caste discrimination, an Italian-born Odissi dancer, a world-famous gotipua dancer and a former sex worker.Twenty minutes seemed to pass by in a flash for the participants, who said the response to their stories was overwhelming. "The idea is to establish a safe conversational space, where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered to promote an understanding of social prejudices and increase tolerance between human beings," said Sourav Panda, an organiser of the event and a member of the Bhubaneswar Poetry Club. "After getting such a positive response, we are planning to make this an annual event," he added.The former sex worker, who was a victim of human trafficking and sought anonymity, said, "We shared some of the most difficult moments of our life with these unknown readers. I enjoyed the session and no one asked me anything that could be seen as humiliating or strange."The unique concept, believed to have first begun in Denmark , has become popular in Indian cities such as Delhi and Hyderabad.

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