Patna Book Club – a spark of intellectual discourse
Alok Mishra
This Sunday, 4 April 2017, was quite amazing. Though I am not a big fan of food chains (be it big guns or the start-ups), because of peace and comfort, I was at the Cafe Coffee Day, Gandhi Maidan, Patna. There were 7 people, including myself, and two others joined later. A gathering of nine heads does not sound like a gathering at all, does it? However, it was remarkable because this gathering sat together on a round table to discuss something which is not usual at least in Patna. Some students of Patna University, headed by a promising English honours graduate, Sana Asif, have planned a Book Club – namely, Patna Book Club. As soon as it came to my notice from Sana herself, I decided to back it up – ideologically, physically, symbolically, financially and in every possible way it could be connoted. When there is no time thinking about the books, these guys have come to the fore to think about a whole book club! To me, it sounded quite fantastic as after rubbing my shoe soles on the roads of Patna for more than 8 years, this was the first time I heard of something ‘literary’ in the real sense…
The attendants of the first formal meeting of Patna Book Club were – Solanki, Atul, Rahul, Ravi, Sudhakar, Shubham, Shivani, Sana and myself. The talks were mostly about the reading habits and the founder introduced to us the aims and prospect of the Book Club. Being the senior, it was pleasant for me to watch the juniors showing their interest in reading. My old friends Rahul and Ravi also added their views to the ongoing discussion and to conclude – it was a nice two and a half hours of discussion.
Patna Book Club was an idea 5 days earlier; it’s a reality today; it will be a grand literary forum in the coming days. The basic aim of this club is to gather the readers in a conference room to share the joy of collective reading. The club meets a day every month and members are introduced to the reading list. Unlike a school, there is no compulsion of reading! The members can read only if they have the pleasure of leisure. At the end of the month, members gather at a decided place and they share their experience of reading the books on the reading list. Discussions, friendly debates, theoretical talks and many other things are there. In short, it’s the READING FUN!
I will personally urge people from Patna to join the Patna Book Club. Doesn’t matter whether you are a student, teacher, professor, doctor, engineer, shopkeeper or anything else – just join the club and read with us all! There cannot be a better place for the readers in and around Patna to express themselves. On a personal level, I can assure you of this!
This little spark that I have been a witness of, I am sure will grow itself into a flame which will eventually find its reflection in the hearts of the readers. And I am sure that with the help of the enthusiastic students involved, this club will make impressions really quick.
