Mumbai Lit Club marks two years of bringing readers together

Mumbai Lit Club MLC founded by Malliketh Nagda and Bhumika Sankhla began as a space to swap books and soon expanded to include a book club This month the Bandrabased book club completes two years with an average of 4050 readers turning up every month to discuss a predecided book It emerged from the founders feeling a need for rich conversations about characters plots and themes within a novel They wanted to listen to nuanced varying points of view from readers reading the same booksMalliketh Nagda and Bhumika SankhlaOver the two years the club has read 23 books Most of the sessions were held at the Crossword Bookstore in Juhu ldquoAndy Weirrsquos Project Hail Mary is one of the contemporary booksrdquo since the film based on it was released recently Nagda tells us ldquoHowever most of the books we select arenrsquot contemporary Everyone is doing that anywayrdquo he adds The club sticks to fiction because of the possibilities it offers From Mary Shelleyrsquos Frankenstein to Elena Ferrantersquos The Neapolitan Quartet and Amitav Ghoshrsquos The Ibis Trilogy they have read an extensive selection of novelsldquoBhumika and I keep reading booksrdquo says Nagda sharing how the members regularly recommend books too He feels the diverse background of the members has helped them broaden the range of books over the two years ldquoWe donrsquot have any criteria The only one is that one of us Bhumika or I should have read the book before making it the book of the month One of us should have the conviction to say that this makes for a great discussionrdquo he sharesRecalling his favourite memory Nagda shares ldquoWe read Ferrantersquos My Brilliant Friend as part of the club and we were all divided by the end of itrdquo Later several members who had read the rest of the series came through they nudged them to read the full quartet The club decided to host a special edition for it They took five months before the meet to read the other three books ldquoThe quartet had become our life we had months of madness where everyone was a family reading togetherrdquo Nagda concludes At their upcoming anniversary special the club will discuss Min Jin Leersquos Pachinko and cut a cake to celebrate their journey with fellow readersOn March 29 11 amAt Nomad Silk Route Kitchen BandraLog on to mumbailiteraryclub to registerMembers speakI would have probably never picked up The Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante if not for MLC Nearly 25 of us read the entire series and showed up We split into Team Lina and Team Lenu There was so much to unpack mdash from the underlying themes and character arcs to the writing style The conversation segued into fan theories and speculations making the discussion even more fascinating MLC is truly a found family Ronnie DrsquoCostaMy favourite book was The Vegetarian by Han Kang The book club has taught me to pause to look again admire what once felt distant It is easy to read what we love it takes patience to engage with what we resist In that effort my reading has deepened and widened I look forward to the monthly meets this is a community where I feel I belong Shivani Chaturvedi KashikarI recall discussing Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes with our members The book was about the frailty and untrustworthiness of memory and the discussion reflected that People missed parts that were pointed out by passages read out loud by other members and interpretations that no one thought of It was a morning well spent Barkat Dhanji