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In
Love with Books
Pratibha
Uppal Retires After 34 years
Books are the best window to the world! She learnt that from
her late father who was a college principal and an Indian
Freedom Fighter. Her eighteen years of schooling in Hyderabad
further instilled the value of reading books.
Growing up in Andhra Pradesh was like being in a cultural lab.
Interaction with and among Hindus, Muslims, rural folks and the
urban dwellers, Peace Corps Volunteers from America and Germany
was as exciting as developing skills to read, write and speak
Hindi, Telegu, Marathi, English and, just plain old friendly
speak.
Marriage brought her to Toronto - a cultural hub in North
America, some 35 years ago. So building bridges with different
peoples from different lands was easy. Because books were her
main interest, dealing with books became her main, only
occupation.
She worked at the Robarts Library, University of Toronto. There
she helped thousands of students, professors, research scholars
and plain folks borrow reference materials and, of course,
books, many books.
As if that were not enough of the reading stuff. After she
helped her two boys learn from books and they became
contributing adults, her weekends were free. This time it was
teaching Hindi to NRI's kids at the T.L.Kennedy School in
Mississauga. She is proud of her 'Hindi' kids especially their
parents.
At first getting Hindi books in this area was difficult. Some
came from India with friends and
family, some appeared from the attic and some were donated by
the Indian Counsel General in Toronto. Most of all, the growing
demand for Hindi books took care of the supply.
Is she lost without books now that she has retired after 34
years of herd work at Robarts. Pratibha Uppal would be happy to
tell you!
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