Once upon a time 12 years ago, I had a dream to start a book club. But a friend began it first, no problem, and we all met in a coffee shop in Garuda mall. Sadly the coffee shop was full of other clients as well and was difficult for us all to hear ourselves, but the idea was born.
So, mulling over the idea I thought why not ask the Catholic Club about starting a book club in the library and the Library MIC then was a very affable Gerald Lobo. I put it across to him and funnily enough since the Managing Committee was meeting that evening he asked me to meet them in the BoardRoom. Francisco Saldanha was the then President and even though I had no idea about how I was going to handle the evening -- they readily agreed.
So the first meeting began with no name. I had decided to call in an author as Guest author for the evening and he or she could introduce their book to an audience of readers. Then I asked the club library to buy 5 books of one particular book that I selected to read for the month. Then after the author left, we all got together to discuss the book.
What fireworks, what fun! When readers get together sparks will fly as each one sees the book in a different light. I will never forget Fifty Shades of Grey as I ordered it seeing it fill the shelves in Waterstones in the Heathrow airport! I had both horrified readers, readers like me who could not go beyond the first few pages and readers who called me asking for the two sequels to be bought! They loved it.
The book club was called iBrowse -- a name which was a combination of two members' ideas. Happily it grew from strength to strength and by the time I resigned from handling it, it was EIGHT years old. It was doing brilliantly well, hosting authors like Wendell Rodricks and lots of other big names who even flew in from London. The club generously served us coffee and biscuits -- well to be honest 10 by two coffees and ten by two teas and we did alright. We gifted a plant from the club to the author as a token of appreciation and that's how it went for eight long years.
I began to invite my students whom I taught in St. Joseph’s College, for the book club from the second year.The simple reason the MIC said you do so much work, lets have a house full. Thats why iBrowse is the only programme open to outsiders as members are not really readers. So many students tell me today their interest has grown because I gave them their first experience of interacting with an author. Ofcourse I added a 5 mark assignment mark to those who attended and many wrote about their experience later. They were tomorrow's makers and animators, and naturally they needed to know how to write. Obviously if you don't read, how can you write?
Sadly I had to face illogical flak over inviting the kids from a couple of disgruntled members according to my loutish BIL. Makes me laugh today to see the MIC of the library is now the Principal of a college and has invited the college kids to participate in a webinar. That’s till another round of disgruntled members who can't do anything themselves rear their ugly heads!
I resigned from handling the Book Club and gifted it to the club on a platter. Ofcourse they did not run it like an academic like me would and so it became an event which I was not interested in.
In a month I began my own book club called Book Bound, which meets in Kafnu a lovely business space on Richmond Road. It also met in our old home on Castle Street which had turned into a restaurant called Nossa Goa. Kafnu was given to me free of cost by a student who ran the place. We had a number of stylish events there.
Once COVID releases us from its clutches BOOK BOUND will restart meeting again. But until then, we have Microsoft WEBEX monthly events hosted by one of our members who works for CISCO.
