How Mumbai`s silent reading community is coming together for the love of books

Updated On: 10 August, 2024 01:03 PM IST | Nascimento Pinto

Being hosted at different gardens in Colaba, Bandra, Juhu and Borivali in Mumbai, the silent reading communities are inspired by Cubbon Reads in Bengaluru. At these meets, book lovers sit quietly and read with other like-minded people while enjoying the beauty of nature

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<p>Started by Borivali residents Amanda D`Souza and her co-curator Sachin Shanbhag, SGNP Reads takes place at a gazebo that is in the vicinity of a river, D`Souza says, which has a really nice view, along with some breeze, and silence, for people to read, and is visibly a rarity in the city. Photo Courtesy: Amanda D`Souza</p>

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Started by Borivali residents Amanda D`Souza and her co-curator Sachin Shanbhag, SGNP Reads takes place at a gazebo that is in the vicinity of a river, D`Souza says, which has a really nice view, along with some breeze, and silence, for people to read, and is visibly a rarity in the city. Photo Courtesy: Amanda D`Souza

<p>Juhu Reads is one of the first communities to have come up in the city started by co-curators Diya Sengupta and Rachna Malhotra. Starting with their first session in May, the duo has been successfully able to host 14 reading sessions since then. Photo Courtesy: Diya Sengupta</p>

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Juhu Reads is one of the first communities to have come up in the city started by co-curators Diya Sengupta and Rachna Malhotra. Starting with their first session in May, the duo has been successfully able to host 14 reading sessions since then. Photo Courtesy: Diya Sengupta

<p>Sengupta and Malhotra along with the community of readers meet every Saturday from 5 pm to 7 pm at Kaifi Azmi Park in Juhu. Such has been the popularity of the community in the neighbourhood, that they not only get children but also elderly people, who regularly come to spend time and read there. Photo Courtesy: Diya Sengupta</p>

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Sengupta and Malhotra along with the community of readers meet every Saturday from 5 pm to 7 pm at Kaifi Azmi Park in Juhu. Such has been the popularity of the community in the neighbourhood, that they not only get children but also elderly people, who regularly come to spend time and read there. Photo Courtesy: Diya Sengupta

<p>Elsewhere in the city, Amie Fazulbhoy started `Bandra Reads` with co-curator Anca Florescu Abraham in July. It was after Fazulbhoy discovered Cubbon Reads, when she was in Bengaluru, before it went viral. While she discovered Juhu Reads earlier, it became a little tedious and so she decided to start the Bandra chapter. </p>

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Elsewhere in the city, Amie Fazulbhoy started `Bandra Reads` with co-curator Anca Florescu Abraham in July. It was after Fazulbhoy discovered Cubbon Reads, when she was in Bengaluru, before it went viral. While she discovered Juhu Reads earlier, it became a little tedious and so she decided to start the Bandra chapter.

<p>They meet in Bandra at the jogger’s park on Carter Road every Sunday from 8:30 am – 11:30 am and meet people who come from Wadala, Andheri, Ghatkopar, and Worli too. Photo Courtesy: Amie Fazulbhoy</p>

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They meet in Bandra at the jogger’s park on Carter Road every Sunday from 8:30 am – 11:30 am and meet people who come from Wadala, Andheri, Ghatkopar, and Worli too. Photo Courtesy: Amie Fazulbhoy

<p>SoBo Reads was started by three Mumbaikars, who call Colaba their home, Pratik Singhvi, Anushka Chaturvedi and Shaun D’Souza. It was Singhvi, who hails from Bengaluru, who first heard about Cubbon Reads, and thought it would be a good idea to start it in South Mumbai. Photo Courtesy: Anushka Chaturvedi</p>

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SoBo Reads was started by three Mumbaikars, who call Colaba their home, Pratik Singhvi, Anushka Chaturvedi and Shaun D’Souza. It was Singhvi, who hails from Bengaluru, who first heard about Cubbon Reads, and thought it would be a good idea to start it in South Mumbai. Photo Courtesy: Anushka Chaturvedi

<p>While they used to earlier host them on Saturdays, they now do it on Sundays from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm at the Bombay Port Trust Gardens in Colaba. All that every reader has to carry is their own mat, beverages or snacks and books and join others every week. Photo Courtesy: Anushka Chaturvedi</p>

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While they used to earlier host them on Saturdays, they now do it on Sundays from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm at the Bombay Port Trust Gardens in Colaba. All that every reader has to carry is their own mat, beverages or snacks and books and join others every week. Photo Courtesy: Anushka Chaturvedi

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How Mumbai`s silent reading community is coming together for the love of books

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High tidal waves in Mumbai delay Lalbaugcha Raja`s visarjan