The silence of Coimbatore Reads — a bunch of people who assemble to read at Bharathi Park every Sunday between 9am and 11am — is near-meditative. Like still water revealing what lies beneath its surface, being in the quietness of the group helps one become aware of surrounding sounds: two quarrelling birds, a distant cough, a boisterous giggle through a phone’s loudspeaker, and a political debate among three elderly walkers from the park’s perimeter, among others. Despite these distractions, you quickly find yourself returning to your book due to the presence of fellow readers. It’s almost as if the passion for reading is infectious.
Coimbatore Reads is one of the many chapters of Cubbon Reads, which has kicked off a silent reading movement in several parts of the world. The inception of this growing trend was purely impromptu. Last December, Shruti Sah and Harsh Snehanshu began cycling to Cubbon Park, Bengaluru, on Saturdays. They would cycle there, spend some time at the park, and return. Once they posted photos of them reading there on Instagram, a few of their friends asked if they could join them. So, they made a page called Cubbon Reads and invited people. Six of them turned up for the first meetup. It has now grown into many chapters (such as Coimbatore Reads, Bessy Reads (in Chennai), New Jersey Reads, etc.) and sub-chapters (like Cubbon Knits, Cubbon Eats, Cubbon Paints, etc.), including thousands of people.
