When Zahra Vakil was a student of Cathedral and John Connon School in Bombay she had gone to Mani Bhavan for references pertaining to her sociology project and was concerned at the condition of the books at the Bhavan Gandhi Sanghralaya Library there. Mani Bhavan is the house on Bombay’s Laburnum Road in Gamdevi where Mahatma Gandhi stayed when in the city. "I got worried after looking at the condition of these rare books. Most were in a bad shape. So, I floated the idea (adopt a book) before the board” and it was promptly accepted, Vakil told Daily News and Analysis (DNA) as reported in its issue of January 12, 2013. Now 18 years old, Vakil is studying liberal arts at Harvard University in the US.
Vakil’s initiative was launched on October 2, 2011, and within eight months 84 old, fragile books were adopted for digitization and preservation. The Library contains around 40,000 volumes, of which 50 are more than a century old, DNA notes. "We uploaded this initiative on the Library’s website. We even made brochures to appeal to the people to expand the initiative. Word of mouth helped us to make more people aware of it,” Vakil told DNA. "Many people are coming forward to preserve these literary treasures, including renowned designer Aurobind Patel who has designed the brochure,” she added.
Librarian Ranjan Bahruchi informed DNA that those who donate Rs 5,000 are acknowledged in the Library’s annual report and receive a personalized certificate. The names of donors who give Rs 10,000 appear in a special register while those who donate Rs 25,000 are given a personalized bookplate on the adopted book with Gandhiji’s quotations on it. Even corporate firms are adopting books by bearing the cost of preservation. So far Mani Bhavan has raised eight lakh rupees for the purpose, with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation alone having paid two lakhs to adopt eight books. Usha Thakker, honorary secretary of Mani Bhavan says they have "stopped accepting money. (We have) enough funds now. This is the charisma of the Mahatma. Vakil’s idea really worked.”