Kolkata: Jagat Mukherjee Park at ward number 8 is just another in the list of parks that are maintained by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. However, what separates this park from the others is the fact that it houses a library just at the entrance of the park where people can come and read books and at the same time, listen to music.
The open library in the park, which has nearly 700 books at present, is the brainchild of one of the guards of the park, Satya Ranjan Bhowmick, who has been doing this duty since 2010. "When I came here to work for the first time, I felt lonely and extremely difficult to spend time. I would see many people sitting on the benches alone and I felt that they also felt the same way I did," Bhowmick said.
He began with keeping newspapers on a table and a few chairs placed around it. "Morning walkers would come and read the newspapers. I then brought a few story books mainly for children and they also started reading the books. Gradually, some local people chipped in with more books and now it has turned into a full-fledged library," Bhowmick said. However, one can't take any book home from the library.
The children come in the late afternoon after their school. Mothers come and spend time in the afternoon when their children are in school and the elderly come in the morning to listen to devotional songs that are played here. In the evening, youth come and listen to modern songs. The park is now abuzz from the morning till 7 pm in the evening.