For six months, Arvind Balasubramaniam from Chitlapakkam had been regularly attending the Sunday silent reading sessions of Bessy Reads based in Besant Nagar, the first such started in Chennai. But soon he realised many attendees from Tambaram, Chromepet and Sanitorium areas found commuting every week difficult. “I felt it was the right time to start a club of our own,” he says, and that was how Lake Reads Chitlapakkam was launched in April. “An amphitheatre near the lake is the perfect spot for sessions. I started an Instagram page and soon people started coming in.”
All the other silent reading clubs in Chennai have a similar story. “Our club Chennai Reads meets at Gandhimandapam in Adyar every Sunday at 4pm. It was started by two friends Gurupriya and Krishna Sai,” says Gowri Shree K, a curator.
The city now has Bessy Reads, Chennai Reads, Chitlapakam Reads and Mylapore Reads, and more seem to be coming up, as IT professionals in Siruseri are asking for their own club, says Gowri.
The clubs have more or less the same rules, which is that there are no rules. They meet at a park or a peaceful spot every weekend without any prior registration and just read silently together for two hours. The major difference from book clubs is that there is no need to introduce oneself or talk about books to an audience. “I think that’s what draws the crowd. Some say being at the beach and around like-minded people relaxes them,” says Kruthika Kumar, founder of Bessy Reads, whose members meet at Besant Nagar beach every Sunday morning. “If they feel like it, readers can talk about the books and have breakfast together at the end.”
The people who come in for the sessions range from parents with children to retired seniors, but a major chunk is people of ages 21-35, says Arvind. “Many people want to start reading but don’t know where to begin. Some have no time to read during weekdays and so use this slot to catch up on their weekly reading.”
A family regularly drops in at the meet-ups, where the mother sketches, the father reads the Bible and the son, children’s novels, he says. “If they’re at home, time just flies watching OTT shows, while here they get to spend dedicated time for reading without distractions.”
Some say that they always feel alone while reading, while this gives them a sense of community, says Gowri. “Post the session, we talk for 15-20 minutes about the books and the authors. But people are free to just walk away.”
The readers mostly bring their own books, but joggers or passersby who wish to join are also encouraged to join and given books from the curators’ collection.
At Mylapore Reads, they also offer refreshments as an added incentive to bring in people. “We want to make reading seem cool,” says Balaji of Mylapore Reads which meets at Nageshwara Rao Park every Sunday evening.
And most importantly, the curators say almost no one turns to mobile phones or speaks loudly during the sessions. “It’s the very purpose of the clubs,” says a participant, “to get away from gadgets for at least a few hours a week.”
All the other silent reading clubs in Chennai have a similar story. “Our club Chennai Reads meets at Gandhimandapam in Adyar every Sunday at 4pm. It was started by two friends Gurupriya and Krishna Sai,” says Gowri Shree K, a curator.
The city now has Bessy Reads, Chennai Reads, Chitlapakam Reads and Mylapore Reads, and more seem to be coming up, as IT professionals in Siruseri are asking for their own club, says Gowri.
The clubs have more or less the same rules, which is that there are no rules. They meet at a park or a peaceful spot every weekend without any prior registration and just read silently together for two hours. The major difference from book clubs is that there is no need to introduce oneself or talk about books to an audience. “I think that’s what draws the crowd. Some say being at the beach and around like-minded people relaxes them,” says Kruthika Kumar, founder of Bessy Reads, whose members meet at Besant Nagar beach every Sunday morning. “If they feel like it, readers can talk about the books and have breakfast together at the end.”
The people who come in for the sessions range from parents with children to retired seniors, but a major chunk is people of ages 21-35, says Arvind. “Many people want to start reading but don’t know where to begin. Some have no time to read during weekdays and so use this slot to catch up on their weekly reading.”
A family regularly drops in at the meet-ups, where the mother sketches, the father reads the Bible and the son, children’s novels, he says. “If they’re at home, time just flies watching OTT shows, while here they get to spend dedicated time for reading without distractions.”
Some say that they always feel alone while reading, while this gives them a sense of community, says Gowri. “Post the session, we talk for 15-20 minutes about the books and the authors. But people are free to just walk away.”
The readers mostly bring their own books, but joggers or passersby who wish to join are also encouraged to join and given books from the curators’ collection.
At Mylapore Reads, they also offer refreshments as an added incentive to bring in people. “We want to make reading seem cool,” says Balaji of Mylapore Reads which meets at Nageshwara Rao Park every Sunday evening.
And most importantly, the curators say almost no one turns to mobile phones or speaks loudly during the sessions. “It’s the very purpose of the clubs,” says a participant, “to get away from gadgets for at least a few hours a week.”
