Ayna and Anisha, two teenage siblings from Gerugambakkam eagerly await the third Saturday of every month. Because on this day, The Reading Project — a bright red and yellow van — unfailingly makes its monthly stop outside their apartment, as it has since 2009. As the van opens its doors, it introduces the girls, as well as other children and adults in the neighbourhood, to a world of books. “From Tambaram to Purasaiwalkam and from Siruseri to Kundrathur, this vehicle goes door to door,” says Gopi Sampath who started The Reading Project a decade ago.
“There are over 3,000 books in here,” he adds, pointing to the collection that includes the works of JK Rowling, Robert Ludlum, Kalki Krishnamurthy, Sidney Sheldon… “And this series,” he laughs, holding up a copy of Geronimo Stilton, a craze among kids in the age group of seven to 12 years, “I have 350 copies of these but you’ll barely find 20 on the shelves.”
Gopi’s life revolved around books long before he started driving around with them. A former employee with Higginbothams, he started Bookworms Library in KK Nagar back in 2001. Last June, it moved to a new address — with jazzed up, pastel green interiors — in the same neighbourhood. “Some of my regular members, over the years, had to relocate to other parts of the city. They could not find a library nearby. They missed me and I, them. So I bought a Tata Ace, modified it and started this mobile library,” smiles the 58-year-old. Now with its corporate membership (where companies have signed up for their employees), the library on wheels also stations itself outsides offices on weekdays.
Today the 3,000-member strong Bookworms Library has a new name. It’s called #Stories Library-Café, and as the name suggests it has a café attached to it. “This is all my son Seshasayee’s idea,” says Gopi. The three-month-old café is bustling with a young crowd on a Tuesday afternoon. A group of 15-year olds are excitedly poring over books between bites of golden brown zucchini fritters, a specialty here. On the next table, two quiet students settle down with a copy of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid as they wait for their food . I pull out one of my favourites since childhood — Enid Blyton’s Last Term at Malory Towers — and dive deep into nostalgia, flipping pages and helping myself to delicious, simple aglio olio pasta. A few pages later, I find myself wolfing down spoonfuls of red velvet waffle — crisp on the sides, light and fluffy in the centre. Somehow, this combination makes the book more loveable.
CHENNAI, 25/03/2019: LIBRARY ON WHEELS: A view of Stories Library Cafe at K.K.Nagar in Chennai on March 25, 2019. Photo: B. Velankanni Raj / THEHINDU
“Food is a natural ally for books,” says Seshasayee. Literature has made many dishes popular: Christmas pudding in the Harry Potter series, scones thanks to Enid Blyton, and marmalade rolls, courtesy: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe . “The food served here falls in the soul food category. We have a little bit of everything, nothing too fancy though,” adds the 29-year-old who is also a lyricist in the Tamil film industry. He says it is the kind of place where you can meet friends or even sit by yourself and catch up on reading. The menu lists everything from pizzas and sandwiches to tea with flavours such as lemon cake and tiramisu, while the library lists 30,000 books. “Members can lounge in the library and read, or rent out a book and take it home. The non members are welcome to read a book as they dine at the café and then return it before they leave,” says Gopi.
A lot of dormant members have returned since the café started. “Their visits have increased by 20% to 25%. And now if you tell me, it’s 7 pm on a Saturday, I’ll be able to tell you exactly which family is here and which table they are sitting at.”
Membership fee for the library is ₹399 but at time of joining it is ₹749 (including deposit). Members can borrow up to 30 books/magazines a month.
Stories Library Café is located at 575/2, Alagirisamy Salai, Santosh Colony, Sector 8, KK Nagar . The library is open Tuesday to Sunday between 10 am and 8 pm. The café is open seven days a week between 11.30 am and 11 pm. Call 9884458327.
