Reading Dasgupta in Delhi

Maura,who worked in the Foreign Service,shifted out of Delhi in 2000. Since 2001,other members took charge,with Delhi University professor Suman Bala leading the group. “I took the club to the academic circles in Delhi and we had professors from the university joining us from various colleges,” says Bala. At that time,she says,American,Indian,African and British writing was quite popular.

Novy Kapadia,associate professor,English,Khalsa College,became the first man to join the club in 1999. “A popular study showed that women read more fiction than men did. We didn’t agree with this study and wanted to prove a point. So,we became members,” he says. Then he adds laughingly,“I think the study was true as even today we are only seven men in the group.”

Retired schoolteachers,university professors,college students and professionals are part of the club,whose members meet once a month and discuss a new book. Authors who have visited the club in the past year include Rana Dasgupta,U.R Ananda Murthy,Sudhir Kakkar,Mark Tully,MJ Akbar,Vikas Swarup,David Davidar and Keki Daruwalla.

“We look forward to authors discussing the book,how/why they wrote it,what it is like working with an editor,the ins and outs of dealing with a publisher,etc,” says Maura.

The club has about 30 members who meet once a month at any member’s house. “Be it rain,hail or sunshine,at least 20 people always show up,” says Bala. Reading and discussion normally lasts for a couple of hours,followed by dinner,but sometimes it goes on for longer.

The reading of Rana Dasgupta’s Tokyo Cancelled was one such time. “We discussed Rana’s book in April. The discussion took place at Patel Nagar at the house of Tina,who happens to be the youngest member of the club. It was a big success among club members,” says Bala.

“I met Rana at a book release function and invited him to our club. He immediately agreed,” says Novy and adds,“Rana read from the book and the discussion lasted for more than two hours and we had so many people.”

“Over the years,Indian writing in English has gained in popularity. “Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things completely changed the outlook of members towards Indian authors. Since then Indian authors started featuring regularly in the group,” says Bala.

The club now has an interesting mix of members—doctors,teachers,professors,investment bankers etc. Bala is happy that after being around for 20 years,the club is still doing well. “We started with 10 odd members and now we have around 25 members that regularly come for discussions.”

Selecting a book for discussion is not easy,says Kapadia. “We always have a heated debate,everyone wants to discuss a different book. Some have reservations over short stories and poems; others want best sellers to be included and some want award-winning books to be discussed. At the end,we narrow it down to availability and affordability.”

Want to become a member? Write to Suman Bala at balsum@gmail.com or call 9891097657