From small difficulties arise great dreams.

Anjan Nag, an ardent book lover, was initially disheartened to learn that a majority of those who had appeared for the high school leaving examination in his ancestral village of Borbari in Dibrugarh district, had fared poorly.

Nag was was equally sad to discover that the adolescents in his village had lost touch with books and reading habits.

Seeking to address the problem, the former medical representative, who has been based in Delhi for 12 years, resorted to crowdfunding to establish Kuhi Paat, an organic village library made out of thatch, mud and bamboos in the Adivasi tea tribe village of Borbari under Borbam Gaon under Hatibondha gaon panchayat in Tengakhat block, 49km from Dibrugarh town.

Nag, a fifth-generation member of the community, saw his dream transformed into a reality when Kuhi Paat was finally opened on Saturday not only for his own ancestral village but also for other villages within a 2km to 3km radius of Borbari.

Nag told The Telegraph that it was quite abysmal that out of eight adolescents who had appeared for the annual matric examination, only two had passed. He said it was not due to disinterest in school textbooks but because of overall loss and failure in the inculcation of the reading habit among the youngsters of the village.

Kuhi Paat, with help from people living in different parts of the world, now houses around 300 books, including comics, pictorial books and others.

So far 80 to 90 children from the village and its surrounding areas have already registered at the library.

There is also a plan to hire a librarian to monitor children’s reading habits and advise them on what to read.

Books will be available in Assamese, English and Hindi.

Nag has spent around Rs 60,000 for the project. A projector will also be set up.

“I got the idea when I began interacting with the villagers. I asked them about their aspirations. It is only through reading that one can get a good education. I discussed this with my friends who suggested opening a library. I placed the idea before the villagers. They agreed and helped me out with the materials,” said Nag, who is also a documentary photographer.

The project started in February with a few delays.

It was eventually opened on Saturday.

The villagers celebrated with a procession celebrating tea tribe culture.

Nag is also in talks with the MBA department of Dibrugarh University to help the children of the village and its surrounding villages with free study consultation from classes VIII to X.

In the near future, there will be screening of children’s films in the library.