A weak, watery sunshine envelopes the inexperienced expanse of the Napier Museum grounds in Thiruvananthapuram. Raindrops twinkle on the damp grass and leaves. Sometimes a breeze showers just a few raindrops. Nevertheless, Vipin S is soaking within the rain that pours by means of the phrases of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Love within the Time of Cholera, which narrates the romance of Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza, protagonists of the grand novel. When Florentino is caught in a bathe after attending his love Fermina’s husband’s funeral, Vipin is transported to that Columbian city the place the story unfolds.

In a quiet nook, exterior the heritage constructing, oblivious to the rain or the picturesque greenery, a small group of kids are absorbed of their books. Sitting cross-legged on the steps resulting in one of many entrances of the Museum, Vipin, a die-hard fan of Haruki Murakami and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, is romancing magical realism and Florentino’s pursuit of Fermina. In addition to him is Binny Baburaj, re-reading his favorite author Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s endearing satire in Malayalam, Sthalathe Pradhana Divyan. Sandeep S Pradeep has his nostril in Hermann Hesse’s Siddartha. Divya Velayudhan, an creator herself, is popping the leaves of her e-book. The readers are engrossed of their books at the same time as some guests rush in to take shelter from the sudden rain.

On that wet day, about 15 voracious readers have gathered for his or her weekly tryst with tales within the Museum grounds. By 11am, they stand up, stretch themselves and are able to return to the mundane materials world.

Binny, a content material author, says Trivandrum Reads, a neighborhood of bookworms, started in 2023, when he and some like-minded associates have been impressed by the studying neighborhood, Cubbon Reads, in Bengaluru.

“We reached out to the founding father of the neighborhood in Bengaluru to know learn how to go about it. It was such a good suggestion to attach with Nature and books, to disconnect from the display,” remembers Binny.

After studying how they went about spreading the phrase in regards to the neighborhood by means of Instagram, Binny and a few of his associates held their first studying session on June 10, 2023. Though they anticipated just a few readers, they have been pleasantly stunned to see greater than a dozen readers flip up with books, mats, water bottles and a fruit, all to make amends for their studying.

Techie Bhageerathi Sreedevi, one of many regulars, says that it helped her join with a neighborhood after she returned to her hometown after a stint in Bengaluru. “We learn from 8am to 11 am. There is no such thing as a speaking or e-book dialogue. That silent bonding over studying is without doubt one of the points of interest of the neighborhood. We’re all on the identical web page,” she says.

There is no such thing as a commercial apart from a put up on their Instagram account, @trivandrumreads. . “If it rains, we shift to Kanakakunnu Palace or the portico of the Museum. In any other case, we carry a mat and sprawl underneath the bushes to take pleasure in our e-book,” says Vipin, a pharma worker.

It might be a reader discovering a brand new creator or having fun with one other studying of a favorite e-book. As soon as the session is over, snaps are taken of the readers and the books learn that day are organized for {a photograph}, all of that are posted on their Instagram account.

Binny asserts that the neighborhood is a self-sustaining one run by small group of volunteers. “There is no such thing as a admin taking choices or vetting members. If you happen to take pleasure in books, you’re welcome to come back and be part of us on Saturdays,” he provides.

Over a number of Saturdays, a few of them have fashioned a deeper connection and after the studying session is over, they go to a makeshift eatery within the neighborhood for tea and small eats. “That’s after we may focus on the e-book we’re studying or get launched to a brand new creator,” provides Vipin.

Bhageerathi, for example, remembers how she was launched to Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart by a reader within the group. Vipin says virtually sheepishly that he was extra into the classics of English and Malayalam and it was solely after he joined the group that he expanded his studying to incorporate youthful authors in Malayalam.

Sandeep, a graphic artist, has been with the neighborhood from the primary studying in 2023. He admits that he was not a daily reader and he joined the group to concentrate on his studying. “It’s a time to attach with books and readers and I’ve come to benefit from the silent classes when all we do is learn within the open. There’s a attraction that comes from being with Nature,” says Sandeep.

On July 5, Trivandrum Reads will hit a century. They insist that there shall be nothing official to mark the milestone. However they hope to chop a cake and invite an creator to hitch them to learn on that day. It’s one other chapter for the neighborhood, an endeavour they’re assured will preserve including to the story of the neighborhood of bookworms.

Printed – July 02, 2025 03:11 pm IST