No book shaming here!
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A free and inclusive space for people to simply read together, Chandigarh Reads is unlike traditional book clubs where there are no assigned books, deadlines or paywalls, just the freedom to read, socialise or simply enjoy a quiet hour with a book.
How did Chandigarh Reads begin, and what gap did you feel it was filling in the city?
Chandigarh Reads began as an offshoot of Cubbon Reads in Bangalore. The Reads movement somehow feels bigger than the sum of its many city-chapters now, having a collective heartbeat that resonates globally.
In Chandigarh, there was hardly a dearth of book clubs, but what we felt was lacking was a free and inclusive third space dedicated to the pleasure of leisurely reading, rather than the performance of it.
Life and work is chaotic enough, the city needed a flexible and low effort community with no required reading whatsoever, no deadlines to chase, and no gatekeeping behind a paywall. Readers are free to socialise or skip it entirely, and body double their way out of years-long reading slumps at their own pace.
Meanwhile, our ‘no book-shaming’ policy keeps literary snobbery at bay!
How does the city itself become part of the reading experience?
Chandigarh’s gorgeous urban planning allows access points to numerous parks and gardens, but which continue to be severely underutilised by the public. Our model of outdoor reading serves as a wholesome community-led opportunity to make the most of this free public good.
While Cubbon Reads had a park-specific model (readers have been meeting under the exact same tree for about three years, year round), Chandigarh is unique in the sheer diversity and variety of accessible green spaces it offers - allowing for a bountiful roster of venues for us.
A change of scenery as a backdrop for our next read is always something to look forward to. North Indian summers have also forced our hand, and transformed our summer reading into something of a cafe hopping adventure.
That, combined with the city’s size, layout, and ease of navigation, creates an undeniable rhythm that supports slowing down. Chandigarh Reads thus has taken something of a fluid, exploratory route, thanks to the city itself.
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Reading is often thought of as a solitary activity. What changes when it becomes a shared experience in a public space?
Individualism has already hijacked most of life, but the need for community and connection is more urgent than ever before. Reading undoubtedly is a solitary activity for many.
Sadly, when hustle culture begins to overtake every aspect of life, leisure is one of the first things to be deprioritised. But with a reading community, we notice something interesting begin to happen.
Our readers mention our Sunday sessions to be some of the only socialising they find the energy to do, the low-effort break that their monotonous work weeks need.
One may even argue the simple act of slowing down is anti-capitalistic, an unapologetic celebration of leisure.
Reading amidst nature feels especially meditative: as the wind brushes through the leaves and we are surrounded by the camaraderie that buddy-reading offers, cortisol levels drop and shoulders relax, jaws unclench.
It is a dedicated point in space-time where reading is the only expectation, and parallel play feeds the soul. It's a novel opportunity to carve out time for ourselves and gain exposure to ideas, titles and people that we didn't have access to before.
Over the past three years, a collective identity has begun to take shape for our readers, an intangible entity that goes beyond a shared space, and becomes instead somewhere they belong.
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If someone wanted to understand Chandigarh through the books people bring to your sessions, what do you think they would discover?
Chandigarh reads like a metropolitan, but it feels like a quaint small town. Aged library books make shy appearances at our sessions. Partition literature bequeathed by grandparents adds character to our bookstacks. Romantasy snuggles next to non-fiction and Punjabi poetry coexists with Bangla prose.
Our readers are dreamers and realists, young people with old souls and grey haired cuties only just getting into dystopian YA.
It's safe to say, Chandigarh contains multitudes.
How do you see an initiative like yours contributing to the city's cultural landscape?
Chandigarh is a city with a culture that evolves with its people, having started as a blank slate post-independence.
Since then, its foundational ties with Punjabi and Haryanvi folk danceforms and music, rich art and textiles, and an explosive film industry won Chandigarh a prominent position in the cultural scene of independent India
In the past few years, as young denizens populated the city, multiple communities popped up as a response to the need for connection and more so a need for evolution of its culture to fit the 21st century.
Chandigarh Reads and other reading clubs have started to bring attention to the blossoming literary landscape of the city. Even as this urbanised small town races ahead to match the tier-one leagues, we'd like to believe that Reads shows that Chandigarh remains a city that can and does slow down to read.
Over the past decade, we saw a growing shift towards e-readers and digital reading. More recently, there's been a noticeable return to physical books and reading communities. What do you think is driving this change?
Chandigarh Reads believes that all reading is good.
It's a privilege to be living in a day and age where readers can customize how they enjoy the written word according to their preferences and accessibility needs.
Our hunch about the recent trend of returning to physical books is that while most of life and almost all of work increasingly shifts to the virtual, it's hardly a surprise that leisure just had to find a way out.
Digital fatigue is all too real, and what better escape from blue light than between the pages of a book?
If Chandigarh Reads were to exist in another city, what do you think would feel completely different?
It's exciting to be part of a movement that already extends and exists beyond the city. One of our curators has visited the Reads chapters in Bangalore, Jodhpur and Kolkata.
Unsurprisingly, each city brings forth its own zaika and zest, however what remains unique to Chandigarh Reads is the gypsy-esque exploration of the city we've somehow also taken on in addition to the reading.
Moreover, the numbers we gather remain small (<50) allowing for more personalized attention, more meaningful interactions with fellow readers.
On the other hand, big city Reads offer anonymity and the kind of shadow-walking many introverts crave.
Post-Reads talk circles often involve invigorating debates that span hours at times, with people slipping in and out of the English language as passions soar.
The fabric that is linguistic diversity flutters in these moments as raw mother tongues and local dialects make an appearance - reminding us that we're far from home. Despite cultural differences playing their role, it's grounding to realise the invisible string tying us all together still.
According to you, what makes someone feel like they belong, not just to a reading community, but to a city?
We feel that a sense of belonging comes about when a city or community unlocks a part of the self which one had forgotten or never knew existed, like a discovery or a reconnection. Sometimes the warmth from a conversation, a shared cookie, or a person one didn't know they needed becomes the key.
Other times the passcode is the ease of familiarity, like knowing the trees and the floofs in your sector like the back of your hand. But at its core, we know we truly belong the moment we feel emotionally safe enough to not have to tread lightly anymore, to just be, with no terms or conditions.
Which is your favourite corner in the city?
At Chandigarh Reads, we adore reading amidst nature.
We'd have to say our favourite reading nook has been Leisure Valley, with its lush canopy cover, undulating terrain, and furry friends, and which also witnessed our exponential growth in numbers before we had to transition to indoor spaces for the summer.
Complete this for us - When life gives you tangerines, you…
bake them into a spicy cake and go picnicking with Chandigarh Reads!
