UtenteCircaNow(She/her)

The Medicine Words lending library is a physical space and community based in Cape Town, South Africa. The books are centered on Buddhist teachings and poetry, and are intended as part of the Triple Jewel: the Buddha (a deep connection to one's higher self), the Sangha (the community of like-hearted people) and the Dharma (the body of wisdom and teachings).

The library is curated by Shivani Ranchod and forms part of the broader circanow movement: cultivating presence in the midst of the imperfect now.

Shivani Ranchod brings her Indian and Hindu ancestry, her location on African earth and her training in the Thai Forest tradition to bear on the pressing questions of our time. The work that flows through her on mindfulness, conscious leadership and the nurturing of the sacred feminine has been informed by her lived experience as an actuary, an academic, a health systems strategist, a board member and as the co-founder of revolutionary organisations.

She has always wanted to be a librarian. Growing up in Apartheid South Africa her local library (located in a so-called Indian area) had a very limited selection of books. Through a serendipitous long distance connection with the children's librarian at a so-called White library, with her father acting as messenger and conduit, she was able to step into the wide and wild literary world, seeding a love affair with books that persists.