Pune: There’s a new book club in Pune. It doesn’t need membership or tea and biscuits or even a room to host weekend meetings — book lovers have chosen the outdoors.
On a bright Saturday morning last week, Alishia Stationwala, an architect, entered Kamla Nehru Park near Fergusson College around 9 am. Finding a spot in the shade under a tree, she sat down and pulled out Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things from her tote bag and started poring into it. Her water bottle stood at her side.
But she hadn’t come for a picnic. It’s Pune’s largest reading room — established by Pune Reads, an initiative that takes reading beyond the home.
A few minutes passed by, and some more people of her age group—Gauri Gurane, who works at Infosys, and Aditya Rajwade—joined her and started reading too. Encased in one’s hands was Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories; another held George Orwell’s Animal Farm. A few moments later, they exchanged pleasantries and introduced themselves.
“I like reading, but coming out and reading is like feeding on others’ energy too. Sometimes, it’s just too much to sit alone and read,” says Stationwala. “It’s a bit of a task reading at home alone in your room after five days of work, so it is good to come out here in the open.”
Though the heat was getting stronger, the chirping of the birds, the cool shade, and the breezy winds made for a pleasant morning. More and more readers started coming in.
Spreading their mats on the grass, they started reading in silos. Some lay down, others sat on the benches at the garden’s periphery.
An unexpected disturbance hit them. The park’s maintenance staff interrupted the session, as they had to water the grass.
“Sorry for the interruption, but the staff here says that from next week onwards, they will change the timings so that we can sit on the grass,” Aditi Kapadi, one of the founders of Pune Reads, told the readers.
But space was not a constraint. People quickly found their new corners and resumed reading.
Also read: New-age Northeast scholarship dominating global academic scene. IIT to Harvard, all want in
A silent activity
Pune Reads was started by Aditi Kapadi, a content creator, Aditi Chauhan, a software engineer, and Sonal Dharmadhikari, a writer. All in their mid-20s, they were inspired by Cubbon Reads, a Bengaluru-based reading programme that too turns outdoor spaces into safe and silent spots for reading. Started in January 2023, it has expanded beyond Bengaluru to other locations such as Delhi’s Lodi Gardens, Mumbai’s Kaifi Azmi Park, Hyderabad’s KBR Park, and Noida’s Meghdutam Park.
All three women had individually approached Cubbon Reads about starting a Pune chapter. “We took the initiative and started it here,” says Kapadi.
And the Bengaluru organisers were more than happy to help them set up their outdoor reading room.
“They laid out the guidelines on how they started it there. It [Pune Reads] is a silent activity, not yet dissecting the groups as such or exchanging the books like Cubbon, but we have just started,” adds Kapadi.
Kamala Nehru Park was chosen because it was centrally located in Pune and close to Fergusson College and BMCC College. Over 30 people turned up on 3 June.
Also read: Christian start-up CEO is blockbuster Hindu mythological novelist. Mahabharata is his muse
Free reading
Pune Reads has become a space for readers to relish the joy of reading physical books — all with the sentiments that come with holding, turning, and dog-marking pages — in a digital age. Only two were seen carrying an iPad and Kindle.
It was for these old timers that Kapadi, Chauhan, and Dharmadhikari started Pune Reads. All one has to do is just carry a book — digital readers are welcome, too, though — and immerse oneself in reading quietly till 11 am.
“The objective is to find the joy of reading with a like-minded community out in the open because this is something that has gone away from public memory,” says Dharmadhikari. “We want to put the joy back into people’s lives.”
Aditi Khare, a professor, read alone. It was her “me time” away from household chores. Quite a reader in her younger days, Khare says her reading habits took a hit due to the added responsibilities that marriage brings. Pune Reads allows her to rekindle her romance with books.
“It is peaceful here. There are too many distractions at home. Here, I am completely switched off and synced in my reading,” she says.
A diverse crowd
On 3 June, readers carried a variety of books with them — from P Sainath’s Everybody Loves a Good Drought, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Gene to Meena Prabhu’s Marathi and Piyush Mishra’s Hindi books.
For Tanmay Kulkarni, who is 20 and studies law in Pune, this variety coupled with the company of nature is what attracted him to the reading club. He has been an avid reader for 12 years now.
“I see that some are reading [James Clear’s] Atomic Habits, some Fredrick Backman’s Anxious People. The vastness of genres is very interesting, and it shows the diversity of people. At home, there is a TV and all, but here, it feels [as if] you are one with nature. You don’t need any specific tools. You can be with yourself,” he says.
Readers say that the garden experience is different from that of a coffee shop, cafes, or even a library where one has to pay for membership. In cafes, one has to order food or coffee to enjoy a good read. But reading in the lap of nature is what makes these Saturday mornings special.
A Saturday with oneself
The Pune Reads experience went beyond reading — it was about being part of a reading community and sharing the passion.
In the first session, women outnumbered men. Although it is supposed to be a quiet reading exercise, making new friends was an added benefit.
Gurane, who is in her early 20s and works at Infosys, says she is an extrovert. “I like to meet up with people who are like-minded.”
Rajwade finds it hard to maintain focus at home. “But here, my concentration span in the last 2 hours has been great,” he says.
Anushka Gupta, who works at an IT company, is still exploring the city and has been seeking out various social events. “It is a good way to spend your time and meet people.”
This is just the start
Pune Reads is also on Instagram now. And Kapadi, Chauhan, and Dharmadhikari were surprised by the response.
People from as far as Kharadi, 20-25 km from the park, enquired about the reading session. “We are hoping that more and more people will join us. We already have over 250 followers,” said Chauhan.
“Maybe we can open a few more chapters in Pune. Let’s see,” adds Kapadi.
Currently, it is easier for the group to assemble in the open. But with the monsoons approaching, they are looking for an indoor space within the park.
Everyone carries their own books for now, and the curators say they might even introduce an exchange policy in future where books can be swapped among readers, encouraging them to read more.
“People normally [stay within their] own echo chambers while reading, which might change people’s behaviour toward reading other genres as well. This is just the start,” says Dharmadhikari.
As they started winding up, the satisfied park readers gathered for a photo. People promised their new-found friends to see them next Saturday.
If the demand for reading sessions rises, Kapadi says they would consider starting the sessions on Sundays as well.
“This is a good start to the day. Sometimes, you need to talk about what you are reading, what you are thinking. It’s worth it,” says the architect Stationwala.
(Edited by Humra Laeeq)