Good news for bookaholics: libraries, clubs and schools are geared to see that you’ll
never need to kick the habit!

All of us have experienced that wholesome sense of well-being - when you’ve just begun a great book or once you’ve savoured it fully.

No doubt, the reading habit has seen a sharp decline in the last decade, at every age group and economic level. “We are bombarded with mass media and are hence distracted from reading,” says Shanmugam Mudaliar, an avid reader and member of The United Services Club and The Littérateurs Club. Fortunately, there are still many bookaholics like him in our city, and they’re likely to draw more people to this delightful addiction!

Libraries have always played a big role in nurturing the reader in us. The oldest library in Pune, which dates back to 1818, is The United Services Library, an amalgamation of the Poona Station Library and the United Services of Western India library. Col. Subhash Ambep (VSM), Library-in- charge, tells us that the library purchases Rs. 30,000 worth of books every month. “Our focus is to draw people into the habit of reading and give them a treasure trove of literary experiences,” he explains. Besides the usual memberships, they offer a special membership that enables you to take books with you on a journey. The library also has a Book Lover’s Club which meets on the last Monday of the month to discuss books that they read.

Circulating Libraries also have come into their own. Take the case of the P-40 Library chain. Its first branch on Salunke Vihar Road became so popular that it has added five more across the city. With a collective kitty of 20,000 books, the library has reached out to people with varied interests – adults, teens, children, and corporate executives. “We don’t scrimp on costs; we have all the latest books and magazines coming in,” says Nutan Singhal of P-40, with a touch of well-justified pride.

What Anil Bakshi of The British Library has to say is really heartening: “We haven’t seen a flagging demand for books,” she informs us. The British Library believes in “catching them young.” The Children’s Library has annual quizzes based on the content of the many glossy, attractive books that the library has for its kiddy members. According to Bakshi, schools too should go all out in encouraging reading.

One school that is really going that extra mile to encourage reading is the Rewachand Bhojwani Academy at Staveley Road. Besides an entire period dedicated to Library skills as part of the curriculum, the school regularly holds poetry festivals, book readings and book sharing. Madhavi S. Kapur, the Principal, says that their endeavour is to involve every single person in the academy in the reading process. If you visit the academy on the first of the month you will see an astonishing sight: Everyone is reading. This period is known as DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) and it is a real hit! “The watchman, the mausis in the kitchen, the receptionist, the teachers, students, each of us drop whatever we are doing and read for about 50 minutes,” Kapur explains. The academy also has several special-interest reading groups and a Book Circle for teachers as well.

What really strikes one is the user-friendliness of the library. Books are even divided into segments such as ‘Easy’, ‘Quite Difficult’ and ‘Difficult’. Every year the academy also organises a Library Week where they have events like a library quiz for students and teachers, the Bibliomania exhibition and a treasure hunt. “The clues in the Treasure Hunt naturally all lead to books in the library,” Sunita Gawade, the librarian of the academy says. The academy has introduced what they call a Reading Millionaire’s Scheme. “We have an earthen pot which acts as a ‘bank’ and we put ‘cheques’ in it. However, these cheques do not have monetary sums written on them. Instead you put the name of the author and title of each book that you read. Our aim is to collect a million such cheques,” Gawade says.

Book circles and clubs are also doing a great job in providing an impetus to reading. The Spectrum Book Club is one such club. Dipti Kapadia, an active member of the book club, tells us that they meet at the Pune University grounds to read, share and exchange views. The Littérateurs Club, which completes a year this month, encourages both the young and the old to read and write and is a free platform to showcase freelance talent in English literary writing.

Open Space takes reading-related interaction a step further. Run by the Centre for Communication and Developmental Studies, it promotes appreciation of literature and poetry and also provides a platform for alternative publications and journals such as ‘The Little Magazine’, ‘Manushi’ and ‘Grassroots’. They organise Literary Evenings called ‘Open Space for the Word’, in which poet Dilip Chitre is actively involved.

Bookstores too have become conducive to reading. Gone are the days when you weren’t allowed to handle books or read in the bookstore! Today, the ambience of most bookstores is restful and charming with even a café thrown in for readers to unwind. Crossword is one such space. Here book readings are organised regularly too. “This helps the readers relate to both the author and the book,” explains V.M. Kulkarni, Manager, Crossword.

All this is terrific news for the city’s bibliophiles. Says Sharon Fernandes, a Trainer at Hero Mindmine at Sohrab Hall, which is the building where one of the Crossword stores is located, “The last time I went there, I came back with 40 books!” She reads every day and feels that it helps if you don’t have a television in your room. That way, you’re more likely to reach out for a book than for the remote!

For all you bookworms out there, old or budding, there’s a thriving world of books, libraries, clubs, and bookstores just waiting to be discovered. Go enjoy!

• The United Services Library, The Poona Club, Pune-1, Phone: 26360083/85.
• The Littérateurs Club, A-4/7 Mira Nagar, Koregaon Park, Pune-1, Phone: 26137993.
• P-40 Library, Crystal Castle, Salunke Vihar Road, Pune- 40, Phone: 4001805.
• Crossword, Sohrab Hall, Sassoon Road, Pune-1, Phone: 26059602.
• The British Library, 917/1, Fergusson College Road, Shivajinagar, Pune-4, Phone: 25654352.
• Open Space, Venu Madhav 5th Floor, Lane No 14, Prabhat Road, Opposite Income Tax Office
  Pune, Phone: 25457371/26852845.
• The Spectrum Book Club, Bhourkha House, 368, Sind Housing Society, Pune-7
  Phone: 9890452461.

- Ritika Ramtri Kumar