Newlyweds begin a new chapter as library members

They sign up for membership on their wedding day

A. Sunderraj, librarian at the Government Branch Library in Mugavalur, Periya Anaikkaraipatti, Manapparai, for the past eight years, was in for a pleasant surprise when a newly married couple, Daniel Raj and Nobin Trichy, decided to drop in at the library soon after their wedding and enlisted as members.

“The marriage was being held in a hall near the library on March 23. I wasn’t expecting the newlyweds, but once they were there, I welcomed them and requested them to sign up as members,” Mr. Sunderraj told The Hindu.

Mr. Daniel, a diploma holder who owns and drives a tractor in Ponnaiyar Dam, said that he had wanted to set an example to other young people by joining the library. “I am fond of reading, though I don’t have any favourite genres. I thought this would be a good gesture to inspire others to frequent the library. But I have to still borrow my first book, as I have been busy with the wedding,” he said. Ms. Nobin works as a nurse.

The rural library has 2,400 members, most of them students drawn from the government school in the vicinity. A subscription of ₹20 allows borrowers to take one book home for 15 days.