‘Book’ this weekend
Feast on more than 1,500 classics this week at an open-air library. It’s free! reports Garima Sharma.
For all lazy readers looking to convert, it’s time for baptisation by reading. Penguin India is opening an open-air classics library at the IHC amphitheatre, where over 1,500 classics titles are on display for readers to choose from throughout the week.
The double whammy is that booklovers can read the books for free during the entire duration of the festival. Hemali Sodhi, general manager, marketing and communications at Penguin, said, “We had been wanting to bring the whole range of classics under one roof for a long time and have finally managed that.” The books on display range from black classics to children’s classics and include titles like The Ramayana, The Panchatantra, The Arthashastra, Rabindranath Tagore’s Selected Poems and Stories, The Bhagavad Gita and many more.
The library is on till March 18. Along with it, a series of cultural readings and discussions will also be held. On March 17, Ramachandra Guha along with Shivshankar Menon will discuss Rabindranath Tagore’s book Nationalism. Authors like Advaita Kala, Alok Rai and Bhaskar Ghosh will also be participating in the interactive events.
Says Tanya Kumar (22), an MBA student, “It’s a great concept! It is very difficult to find classics or the time to read such titles these days. Such a library can help people like me get hooked on to reading again.” Advertising professional
Vaibhava Bhatnagar, (22) agrees. “Books and coffee at one place is like the perfect day-out activity.” In addition to this event, Penguin India is also starting a blog where readers can blog about the classics.
Visiting hours : 11am to 7pm