Spread the word

A fortnight ago,a first-of-its-kind literary event took place in the city. Held at Yodakin,a book and music store in Hauz Khas,Hold the Novel witnessed an evening of readings by its moderators journalist Jairaj Singh and writer Akshay Dhar.

A fortnight ago,a first-of-its-kind literary event took place in the city. Held at Yodakin,a book and music store in Hauz Khas,Hold the Novel witnessed an evening of readings by its moderators journalist Jairaj Singh and writer Akshay Dhar. What set the event apart was that the readings were from their unpublished works. An open mic session followed,and Delhis closet writers rose to the occasion. It was encouraging to see that several people were carrying their work. One person even began reading out his writing from his phone, says Arushi Sen,Yodakin. Till now,book events in Delhi revolved around frequent launches but small initiatives are now opening a new chapter.

While 2007 was about book clubs mushrooming across Delhi,the following year saw the citys authors and book lovers hop from one book launch to another,drinking wine and biding their time till the next invite was handed out. Although launches are still heavily attended,a spate of small initiatives are hoping to attract the real lovers of the word,written or spoken. We stay away from the big dos that book launches have become. Instead,we are focussing on events such as Hold the Novel that bring readers and writers together in an intimate space, says Sen. The store is trying to carve its own identity as an alternative and contemporary space for literature,music and cinema. With the success of the first Hold the Novel,Sen and the team at Yodakin are working to reprise the evening soon.

The Attic in Connaught Place has been organising book readings and workshops for a few years; last year,their five star neighbour,the Park hotel too launched an evening of readings with contemporary Indian authors. Titled A Reading in a Room with a View,the event takes place at the Residence Lounge which offers a spectacular view of Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar. We wanted to use the Lounge because it has a lovely vibe and view. Its a nice setting for readers to interact with authors, says Anushree Banerjee of The Park. The first author at these readings was Aatish Taseer (Stranger to History,The Temple Goers),followed by other established names like Amitava Kumar,Kishwar Desai,Anita Nair and Pakistani author HM Naqvi. On June 16,the Lounge will play host to journalist Abhisar Sharma who will discuss his debut book The Eye of the Predator with Santosh Sinha of the BBC.

Though Delhi is not new to poetry readings,these have been few and far between. Delhi Poetree and the Bombay Elektrik Projekt-Delhi chapter (BEP-Delhi) organise open mics for poets sporadically. Yodakin is the latest to jump on the rather rickety bandwagon with a session with Tibetan poets Tenzin Tsundue and Buchung Sonam in July.

BEP-Delhi too has an exciting book event up its sleeve: tentatively titled BYOB+B (Bring Your Own Books and Buy),it will be a book bazaar selling old books. Think a mini-Daryaganj in a diner, says Neha Malhotra,BEP-Delhi. We are sourcing about 300-400 secondhand books,which will be put up for sale at the Bazaar. The proceeds will go to charity. Were also planning to invite independent publishers to put up a table of their titles, she adds. The event is scheduled for the first week of July at The International Diner in GK-I.

Contact:
Yodakin: 26536283
The Park: 23743000
BEP-Delhi: neha@bombayelektrik.com

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Spread the word

A fortnight ago,a first-of-its-kind literary event took place in the city. Held at Yodakin,a book and music store in Hauz Khas,Hold the Novel witnessed an evening of readings by its moderators  journalist Jairaj Singh and writer Akshay Dhar.

A fortnight ago,a first-of-its-kind literary event took place in the city. Held at Yodakin,a book and music store in Hauz Khas,Hold the Novel witnessed an evening of readings by its moderators journalist Jairaj Singh and writer Akshay Dhar.