On the eve of Independence Day, a community of avid readers will be assembling for the 300th meeting. And it is no mean achievement!
Since January 2005, young to old adults have been gathering uninterrupted every alternate Sunday at the LAICO building of Aravind Eye Hospital driven by a common passion – to read, listen to lively talks, engage in intellectually enriching discussions and share information and knowledge.
“There is just something comforting about getting together with like-minded people and partake of their wisdom,” says P.Suryanarayanan, the de facto permanent convener of the 11 years old Madurai Readers’ Club. “Knowledge acquisition is both liberating and empowering,” he says
To have a group of strangers connect on Sunday mornings over literature may sound un-fun to many. But over the years this network of individuals has turned out to be a far cry from the traditional image of groups involved in thoughtful discussions of books and dwindling in strength.
If topics discussed in meeting after meeting cast the spell on audience, the success of the club – now famous by its acronym ‘MRC’ – has also been scripted by this one man’s ability to play by the rules and honour the mission and very purpose of setting it up.
Suryanarayanan or Suri, as he is popularly referred to, was the automatic choice of a group of friends who during their morning walks decided to start a forum and exchange information so that it benefits more people. Steered by IAS officer V.Irai Anbu, who was then posted in Madurai, the literary association was launched and initially called the Madurai Readers’ Forum.
Extremely particular of doing justice to any task assigned, Suri ensured discipline from the beginning to shape the discussions and keep the attendance. “It does not take time for things to fall apart,” he says and has held together the enthusiasm of well-read and well-informed citizens from not only the city but neighbouring districts as well for more than a decade.
What started with 30 members has grown into a fold of 400 members today and with even a quarter of them attending the fortnightly meeting has kept the club going. On special occasions like anniversary meetings, the turn out is over 250. And if a 10 year-old-girl started accompanying her father to the MRC meetings and has been doing it for the past eight years, another 85-year-old senior citizen takes the effort to come from Chennai for the meetings. It speaks of the energy levels and motivation of both, the organiser and the attendees.
“You have to feel the vibration among the members in the audience and the speaker. It has been an exhilarating experience for me,” says Suri, who compares the convening of each meeting to the natural delivery of a child. “I take immense care in planning and executing,” he smiles.
With no canvassing at all and at an annual subscription of Rs.300 per annum, people just kept adding themselves to MRC over the years. So what is so appealing inside a room full of mostly middle-aged and older men and a handful of women joining in of late?
“I read a lot and choose the speaker and topic carefully,” says Suri, “and all our members show extreme interest in group dynamics.” From linguistics to literature, management to psychiatry, medical to rocket science, travel to gourmet, Suri ensures a variety in the points for discussion. He says many times if the topics are sublime or the message is subtle, the talk is always engrossing.
Instead of asking members to read a particular book and group review it at the meetings, it was Suri’s idea to have a guest lecture followed by any one member discussing any book of choice. “Cross-flow of thoughts lends clarity to many minds and lives. Many sessions are eye-openers,” he says, but what gladdens him the most is the interaction. “It confirms our members don’t come just for sake but because they are genuinely interested in self-enlightenment. They evince so much interest and are alert to questioning or supplementing the information,” he adds.
Suri has set a pattern and a routine to the meetings which nobody flouts. “People feel they are learning something new at each meeting and realise the importance of the time and the takeaways.”
A chartered accountant by profession, Suri says he is humbled by the opportunity of running MRC. Every year at the anniversary function, he offers to step down but is unanimously cheered back by the members to hold the reins.
The MRC has no structured form but has an invisible force to pull the collective wisdom. “If the members’ enthusiasm is my fodder, my commitment to help it function smoothly is their food,” he says, also pointing out that nobody quits the club.
Reading may still be a fraught subject, but the intimate pursuit builds a relationship forever. Quoting a study, he says, it is the power of strangers, who find rejuvenation in groups, value relationships over material possessions and change lives based on cooperative culture.”
“Like companies practising CSR,” says Suri, “this is my Individual Social Responsibility.” Yet, he is not alone. He has the support of all MRC members.
