Mumbai Lit Club marks two years of bringing readers together

A glimpse of a discussion in progress. On an average, 40 to 50 members turn up for a session. PICS COURTESY/Mumbai lit club

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 Bandra-based book club completes two years, with an average of 40-50 readers turning up every month to discuss a pre-decided 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 books.

Malliketh Nagda and Bhumika Sankhla

Over the two years, the club has read 23 books. Most of the sessions were held at the Crossword Bookstore in Juhu. "Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary is one of the contemporary books," since the film based on it was released recently, Nagda tells us. "However, most of the books we select aren't contemporary. Everyone is doing that anyway," he adds. The club sticks to fiction because of the possibilities it offers. From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to Elena Ferrante's The Neapolitan Quartet and Amitav Ghosh's The Ibis Trilogy, they have read an extensive selection of novels.

"Bhumika and I keep reading books," 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. "We don't 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 discussion," he shares.

Recalling his favourite memory, Nagda shares, "We read Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend as part of the club, and we were all divided by the end of it." 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. "The quartet had become our life; we had months of madness where everyone was a family reading together," Nagda concludes. At their upcoming anniversary special, the club will discuss Min Jin Lee's Pachinko, and cut a cake to celebrate their journey with fellow readers.

On March 29; 11 am
At Nomad Silk Route Kitchen, Bandra
Log on to @mumbailiteraryclub (to register)

Members speak

I 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 - 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 D'Costa

My 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 Kashikar

I 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