Waypoint Café on Sarat Bose Road is starting a book club on their premises. The launch was celebrated with an informal conversation session with interested book lovers who had registered online and assembled there on the morning of February 20. It was hosted by Dr Debnita Chakravarti, Associate Professor of English, Shri Shikshayatan College.
The session was inaugurated by the owners Megha Malhotra and Saon Sen Nandi. They highlighted their vision for the book club: a stopover on the reading route of bookworms in the city who want like-minded souls with whom they can discuss a favourite read. The space, done up tastefully to provide a cosy break after work or to start off a new morning with fresh bakes and beverages, will turn into a meeting point for avid readers on the third Sunday of every month.
Dr Debnita Chakravarti, Associate Professor of English, Shri Shikshayatan College (R), who hosted the event, with Waypoint Café owners Megha Malhotra and Saon Sen Nandi
For a nominal fee every quarter, one can register to become a member and join a lively and free-flowing conversation about what they were reading. Several participants at the launch highlighted that such a space is much needed to voice one’s opinions and looked forward to an exchange of ideas without reservations.
The ideal setting
The pandemic has made us mindful of the simple pleasures of life, and the need to invest in our own wellbeing. With that view in mind, the Waypoint Book Club offers an opportunity to nourish the body and nurture the mind — pairing our favourite food and drink with chosen volumes. If coffee makes it possible to get out of bed, books make it worthwhile to do so; the combination has always been a winner, and thus a café was the ideal setting for a book club. There are plans to do themed pop-up menus around books. For example, books on environmental issues could be paired with vegan dishes. Cuisines from different countries could be sampled in conjunction with their literature. South American, Russian and East European special events have been proposed for the near future.
Waypoint Café on Sarat Bose Road
The session was attended by a variety of participants who found an affinity in their passion for the written word. Everyone present shared an awareness of the increasing difficulty to make time for reading, despite wanting to spend more time with books. They hoped that the book club would be the catalyst to their effort to read more and read better. The idea was to step out of routine and spend an indulgent hour or two discussing books, and through them, all the things that are important to us.
Everyone present shared an awareness of the increasing difficulty to make time for reading, despite wanting to spend more time with books
The modalities of the workings of the club were discussed. Everyone who wants to read and to talk about the magic of words can become a member.
Please contact Waypoint Café (located at 32B, Sarat Bose Road, Chakraberia) at 033-79628447, or on Facebook for further details.
