Cube — The Reading Nest is the space to study without getting distracted

It is the newly-opened reading room for those preparing for competitive exams or pursuing various courses

Kavitha Niroop and Krishnakumar Prem at Cube-The Reading Nest

The capital city is home to co-working spaces, performance spaces and places to learn, create or share your stories. A new space that has opened up is meant for students to work without any disruptions. If you are above 18 and is on the lookout for a place to study or prepare for any competitive exam, then check out Cube — The Reading Nest.

Located along Sasthamangalam-Vellayambalam stretch, it has been conceptualised by Kavitha Niroop and Krishnakumar Prem, life-skills and soft-skills trainers. “The air-conditioned room has individual cabins, free Wi-Fi and a separate section for group discussions. We also stock newspapers and magazines. There is a coffee room as well,” says Kavitha.

Krishnakumar says that it was his stint in Delhi while preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations that introduced him to the concept of reading rooms. “Such spaces are common in Delhi and they are extremely helpful for students. Now that our city has evolved as an education hub with scores of coaching centres for various competitive exams, we thought a reading room is the need of the hour. Some may not have the facility at home. Or, if they opt to sit in open spaces such as a park, there are bound to be several distractions,” he says.

Cube-The Reading Nest

Kavitha adds that some of these students hail from other districts or even outside the state. Since many of them share accommodation, they might find it difficult to concentrate on their studies and a reading room would be of help to them.

“Those appearing for exams conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) and even those pursuing professional courses such as medicine can make use of this. In future, we plan to give training in aptitude tests for those appearing for competitive exams conducted by the UPSC, the KAS and the PSC,” Krishnakumar says.

Cube has 28 cabins and users have already started frequenting the room. Gopika Rejith, a civil service aspirant from Ernakulam says: “Although my coaching centre has reading rooms, since there are multiple batches of students there is always a rush and I am not comfortable with that. So I chose to come here,” she says.

Inspired to focus

P Anand Mohan, a resident of Kannammoola in the city, comes here because he wanted to get out of the comforts of his home. “So many distractions at home! Also, I am tempted to take a power nap after a few hours of studying! But here I am pushed to make the best use of my time and with a cabin to myself, I get inspired to focus. I spent nearly 10 hours here,” says Anand, who is preparing for the civil service prelims.

The space is open from 7 am to 9 pm. Monthly user fee is ₹1,000. Contact: 9495933895