Most people would be tempted to retreat beneath a blanket and snore away the trepidations on weekends. However, every second Saturday, a clutch of eager beavers make their way to a café in the heart of Kochi, a book or two in hand.
This reporter, too, joined one such stream of people recently for the 43rd meeting of the Cochin Book Club, one of the longest-running public forums for discussions on books in the city. The venue was Cafe Coffee Day on Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road. By 3.30 p.m., a handful of people had already occupied the seats around the café’s long table.
Conversations brewed just as quickly as coffee. Some of them had been part of the club for years. Others, like this reporter, were attending the meetup for the first time. Almost all of them had very diverse tastes in reading. This was evident from the range of books that appeared on the table in neat piles before each person. They included genres such as fantasy, science fiction, romance, crime thrillers, literary novels, non-fiction books on history, and even comics.
Yet, despite these apparent differences, all were drawn closer by a shared passion for reading and a commitment to celebrate literature. “We have been holding meetups since 2018, save for the Covid years, of course,” says Harris Ali, the event’s organiser, as he placed a book taken from a local public library on the table.
“It started off as a three-member group of friends who wanted to have a casual chat about books. Now, the club has over 300 members of all ages and interests.”Part of what makes the club’s meetups successful is the emphasis given to keeping them casual and laid-back. “The strategic location of this cafe and having a perennial stream of coffee on demand also adds to the allure,” Harris adds.
However, informality does not imply a lack of form. The club boasts a well-constructed structure that ensures that even the newcomers can blend in.“There are two sessions. One, everyone discusses a book that they have read recently. It could be in any genre. Each participant is afforded 5-10 minutes to elaborate on some of the key takeaways from the book,” Harris elaborates.
“After everyone has had a go, we move to the next round. Here, everyone discusses a book that they have read that navigated a certain theme, which is decided by votes. For September, it was ‘Animals’. This month, it is ‘Change vs Tradition’.”
That said, no hard and fast rules govern the club’s operations. September’s event also saw two book releases and a splintering of the group into smaller fractions to discuss topics in a more nuanced manner.
“The main objective of the club is to provide an offline forum for readers. What you see around you are the true readers of Kochi,” says Harris, a biomedical engineer, who runs a business in Kochi.
Despite its purported mission – i.e. to provide Kochiites an avenue to discuss books and more – Cochin Book Club is not easily found. Though there’s a social media page and an active WhatsApp group, only the readers who go out seeking a book club would find it.
“This happened by default, not some conscious design. To be honest, we prefer it that way. We are, after all, a small but passionate group,” says Harris. Though Harish P. I has been living in Kochi for the past 10 years, it was only last year that he stumbled on the book club. “I saw the post announcing the meetup on Instagram and decided to walk in,” recalls the Thalassery native. “It has been a blessing, as I was able to find people who are as equally interested in books as I am.”
According to him, reading is a solitary hobby and can get monotonous after a while. A platform to discuss books and socialise with fellow readers can revitalise it. Joining the club has also helped Harish restart his blog. “I have also become adventurous with my selection of books,” adds the Salman Rushdie fan.
For Balamukund R, a doctor who’s pursuing his MD in Kochi, the Cochin Book Club has been a portal to uncover another side of the city he now calls home. “After joining the club in July, it dawned on me that even amidst the glitz and glamour of this tourist destination, quiet passions like reading, too, can flourish. This club has become the single best thing I love about Kochi,” says the Alappuzha native.
According to him, it is harder to find a group of book enthusiasts than it is to find a fan club of a sports team or a celebrity. This fan of high-fantasy books learned about the club after running into Harris at a silent reading event in Panampilly Nagar. Since then, Balamukund has also played an instrumental role in spreading the word about the club. “Flocking together is highly recommended for birds of similar feathers,” he quips.
Indeed. Balamukund and his partner Meenakshi Hemanth share an insatiable love for good books. After arriving from the UK recently, one of the first things that this aspiring writer wanted to do was attend the club that her husband had been raving about these past months.
“Though I have been part of book clubs before, this is my first offline meet. I loved the experience. Book clubs, I think, are essential as they help instil a sense of community,” says the Kozhikode native whose favourite authors are Elena Ferrante and Brandon Sanderson.
It is this very sense of community that has Vineeth Abraham, a native of Irinjalakuda, travelling nearly 50km to Kochi every second Saturday. “I really enjoy interacting with the club’s members. Most of them are younger than me,” says the former bureaucrat, who boasts a library of over 20,000 books.
“Interacting with them has opened my eyes to a lot of books and authors that I would perhaps not have sampled otherwise. In turn, I try to interest them in a lot of authors I love. You could say the interactions have been mutually beneficial.”
For many, like Ashik Satheesh, who hails from Kollam, the club is also an avenue to integrate with life in a new city. “I see book and film clubs as a way to foster new connections and friendships, as I grow into my thirties,” says Ashik Satheesh, a 33-year-old filmmaker.
For others, like 24-year-old content writer Jessica M, the club is a means to get out of a reading slump. “From someone who could finish two novels a day in college, I became someone who couldn’t even finish 10 books a year,” says the Agatha Christie fan.
“Work and social media take up most of my attention these days. Joining the club gave me a much-needed spark to rekindle my love for reading. I feel like my old self again.”
Like in the case of Balamukund, the Cochin Book Club has also been pivotal in helping Jessica M pull the veil on a new side of Kochi. “The club has also pushed me to widen my reading, exposing a vast world of hitherto unknown authors and their fabulous works,” she adds. In short, the Cochin Book Club is not merely about books. It’s about community, connections, and the comforting embrace of literature and lattes combined.
Their next meetup is coming up on October 14 at Cafe Coffee Day. This reporter will certainly be there at 3.30pm. Would you like to join?