It is a truth universally acknowledged that readers don’t like to be interrupted. “They like to read and lose themselves in a book in companionable silence,” says Rachana Malhotra of Juhu Reads, a chapter of a pan-India community of bibliophiles who have turned reading books in natural surroundings such as parks and beaches into a weekly ritual. “Here, there is no compulsion for small talk, but there is a sense of safety. Like in your childhood, when you could get lost in your book.”
We’ve often imagined going to a public park with a mat, laying it on the ground, stretching out and reading a book. But in India, it was unimaginable for most people that they could turn off the safety switch in public spaces. It is happening now, however, thanks to weekly reading sessions coordinated through social media. The time and location are shared through Instagram accounts handled by curators — the chapters named eponymously after the parks or locations where they meet weekly — and people show up.
