Books are a true stress buster. It’s time we embrace reading as we struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic. National Book Trust of India, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, is embracing this simple act by donating books in Sardar Patel Quarantine Centre in Delhi.

NBT has taken this one-of-a-kind initiative in collaboration with the Delhi Government so that patients can spend time in isolation with informative and entertaining books. This is in regard with making their stay in confinement easier and productive. NBT donated more than a thousand books and 100 copies of their magazines/journals; Pustak Sanskriti and Readers Club Bulletin. They have been taking various initiatives to help the society in coping up with mental stress, staying positive and keeping healthy.

Yuvraj Malik, director of National Book Trust, said, “Good books provide a positive mindset to people battling with Corona, which helps them in overcoming from the mental frustration during their quarantine period.”

Patients often tend to spend most of their time on the phone in confinement. Library in COVID care centre will give them an option to read books instead.

It is noteworthy that NBT has conducted the same kind of experiment in the quarantine Centre of Ghaziabad. Positive feedback has encouraged taking it further. Reading can provide us with an escape from the stress of deadly pandemic. Simply by opening a book, one allows themselves into a literary world that distracts from daily stressors. They are continuously trying to motivate every section of society to read good books.