For the past decade, the Cuckoo Movement has been setting up libraries in various places. The dream was simple, children of indigenous communities living in the forests should get to read, the kids in rural schools should have access to stories, and everyone should be allowed a small escape from harsh realities through the magic of words. This is a story built entirely on hope. Every place has given us a new connection. Every book has taken us on a new journey. It was through one of our friends Sankar and Nesan, that the Sub-Collector of Kottayam, Mr. Ranjith, came to know about the libraries Cuckoo had created in different places. He reached out to Sivaraj anna and expressed his wish to improve the existing library inside the District Jail at Kottayam , a space that until then had mostly old Malayalam books and wasn’t accessible to many of the inmates. So, in January 2025, we travelled to Kottayam to meet the Sub-Collector and understand the needs of the space.
The jail housed inmates not only from Kerala but from many other states. The Sub-Collector had noticed that those who could not read Malayalam often experienced deep isolation and emotional distress. He believed that making books available in other languages such as Odia, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali and English could offer comfort, thought, and connection to those navigating difficult days. He sought Cuckoo’s help to bring this vision to life. This wasn’t a small undertaking.
A team from Cuckoo led by Sathya Subramanian, an architecture graduate, along with her teammates Maari, Susruthan, and Yogeshwaran, stayed in Kottayam for nearly ten days to coordinate the transformation. They cleaned the library room, repainted the walls, added fresh curtains, fixed electrical issues, and installed new lighting to make the room feel inviting. Among the existing books, good ones were preserved, unnecessary ones were set aside, and the rest were arranged neatly with labeled sections.
Around 600 new Malayalam books were procured, and about 400 books in Tamil, English, Odia, Assamese, Hindi, Kannada and Telugu were added to the shelves. A complete inventory was prepared, and proper care instructions were handed over to the library caretakers. The renovated prison library was inaugurated on April 8, 2025, in a moving gathering.
The Chief Guest was writer and critic K.C. Narayanan, who shared his reflections on literature and transformation. G. Praveen Kumar, Sub Judge and Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, T.G. Santhosh, Regional Welfare Officer of Prisons and Correctional Services, Sub-Collector D. Ranjith, Vijayakumar, Secretary of the Kottayam Public Library, and District Jail Superintendent Sarath were present and presided over the event, each expressing their support for the role of books in nurturing reflection and rehabilitation.
The speech of K.C. Narayanan sir moved us deeply. His words carried the weight of truth and tenderness. Anbu Raj anna’s experience and his sharing echoed through the room, his voice reached the inmates with a grace that settled softly over their silence. We don’t know what this space will become. But if one person finds a line that feels like it was written just for them, if one book helps someone breathe through a night that feels endless, then this little library has done its work. Maybe it won’t fix what’s broken.
But it might sit beside someone in their loneliness, without asking them to be anything other than who they are. As Henri Charrière says in Papillon,�“The silence is dreadful… It’s a terrible thing, solitary. I fight against madness, against being swallowed up by this nothingness.”� His words about silence, loneliness, and the battle to stay sane within prison walls remind us of what a space like this might offer. That fight, that longing to feel human again; that’s what we hope this little room of books can hold space for.
Added to the books there was Ananda Perumal, who poured care and imagination into crafting the name board. Every inmate who walked past it reached out to touch it. This library became possible through the heartfelt efforts of many. Our deepest thanks to Raveendran Meenakshi, Anburaj, Thangavelu, Sneha, Manikandan, Mohan, Gypsy, Subid, Balagurunathan , Sivagurunathan, Bharathi, Stalin, Ram Prasad, and Kishore. Your support, presence, and belief gave this space its soul. With Hope,�From Cuckoo Forest School.
