In the age of electronics, Nilgiris library promotes reading through book club

UDHAGAMANDALAM: In an age of electronics where the habit of reading is facing a losing battle, the Nilgiri Library is making valiant efforts to revive it by conducting book club activities, hosting cultural events and scheduling story-telling and reading sessions for children over the last two years. The library is located in a Victorian building with striking gothic style architecture, on Commissioner's Road in Ooty.

Members of the book club meet every second Saturday to discuss the book selected for the month. This past Saturday marks the beginning of the third year of the club. "It is an interesting experience. It is not necessary to agree with popular sentiment regarding the book. You are free to agree or disagree with the reviewer or ideas and concepts of the author," said Kamala, the coordinator of the book club.

The book to be read is announced well in advance, usually three months before the discussion happens. The reviewer chooses the book to be read. This coming Saturday the book to be discussed is 'The Secret Life of Plants' by Christopher Bird and Peter Tompkins. Ravindran Govindan, who chose the title, will review the book followed by a debate on its content among club members.

Members really look forward to the Saturday meetings. In fact, one member who knew that she would be missing one such meeting sheepishly asked if it could be recorded. Another member, Dr Kousalya would like to meet every week. "These meetings are very gratifying," Kamala said. A few recently reviewed books include White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway.

The 150-year-old library also conducts reading and storytelling sessions for children. A small children's corner has been identified inside the library for the purpose. "Children are very enthusiastic about the reading sessions and they participate actively," said Kamala.

A garden club has been formed by the library members to maintain the area surrounding the library building. "We want the library to be a hub of cultural activities," said Ramakrishnan Nambiar, secretary of the Nilgiris Library. About 40 saplings of indigenous trees were planted inside the campus a few days ago.

The library also organizes talks by authors, audio visual sessions, dance and music programmes to draw more members. They also plan to come out with a cinema club. Last week it screened the Oscar award winning Iranian movie, The Separation. The screening was sponsored by INTACH, the Nilgiris chapter. "We plan to screen art movies and award winning movies for our members," said Nambiar.

The cultural activities organized have attracted another 150 members to the library. Presently, the library which houses more than 40,000 books, some as old as 400 years, has 600 members.

Run by a committee, it came into existence in 1858 to cater to European readers. Among visitors to the library are many distinguished personalities including I K Gujral, former Prime Minister of India, Fatima Beevi, former Governor of Tamil Nadu and Rajam Krishnan, a renowned writer.

More News at: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-11/coimbatore/33152836_1_nilgiris-library-library-members-cinema-club