A haven for bibliophiles: Inside India’s first ‘book village’ near Pune

mumbai

Updated: May 06, 2017 11:51 IST

It was education minister Vinod Tawde’s idea to convert Bhilar village near Mahabaleshwar, famous for its strawberries, into a book village or ‘pustakache gaon’. ( Satyajit Joshi )

Artists have tried to capture the love for reading through their murals. ( Satyajit Joshi )

NCP chief Sharad Pawar spent nearly two hours engrossed in Bhilar’s books on Thursday. ( Satyajit Joshi )

As many as 75 artists were roped in to beautify the village and paint murals. ( Satyajit Joshi )

The state plans to boost tourism through this initiative. ( Satyajit Joshi )

Pick up one of 15,000 rare books, stashed at 25 locations across this village. ( Satyajit Joshi )