In November last year, the sprawling gardens of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) Museum saw an unusual public art display. A 35 metre-long BookWorm Pavilion had children and adults leisurely sauntering under its shade and picking up books to read. An escape from the libraries, schools and museums, this book-scape was rather inviting. The modular structure built from around 3,600 wooden components to make ladders, housed both shelves, which could store 12,000 books, and seating areas for reading and storytelling sessions. This piece of art was meant to travel around the country—in rural and urban areas—to encourage reading. Except now, it rests dismantled in the workshop of its designer, architect Nuru Karim.

Nuru Karim says the AR/VR version of the pavilion, will double as a book-scape. He hopes to create a space, where you can bump into friends and acquaintances, and pick an actual book to read