2 brothers spread love of reading, open community library in Nagaland

Kohima: Away from the hustle of town lies the Kigwema Village in Nagaland, 15km away south of the state capital Kohima, where two Naga brothers have come up with a special and significant initiative in creating a Community Library. The self-funded initiative was undertaken by Akho Phira and his brother Thepfukelie Phira and the library was formally opened to the public on July 23, 2021. Akho Phira (27), who is currently working at the Centre for Research in Schemes and Politics, Meghalaya, said the concept behind the community library came up when he made a normal conversation with his elder brother, Thepfukelie. The idea just clicked with the two of us, he says. Phira said both of them are avid readers, and it was just after the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic that they wanted to do something for the community. They wanted to revive the “dying culture of reading” and make book resources easily accessible through this initiative. He also said people from all walks of life come to the community library for their study materials and research.“It’s going to be two years now since we started and we have achieved two major milestones,” Akho said as they have been able to start two similar modules in another village under Phek district. Recalling the first day, Akho said they started with a handful of books from their own personal collections and a few contributions from friends. However, gradually they started receiving books from the department of art and culture and forest department, Nagaland, and with time they started receiving books from Pune, Goa, Bangalore and several companies. “One of the recent support received was from Goonj Assam,” he added. Agencies