Moving away from home was a return to self

Palak gajera

6 Jun 2025

I didn't really expect that Mumbai would very soon become Bom-Bae.

Quick context: Rajkot to Mumbai for internship
Reading was once a habit, but life happened
Then came Mumbai Bookies

One Silent Session Reignited All

A quiet Saturday morning in Mumbai. A book in hand. Strangers all around. But something about it felt familiar. Somewhere between navigating navigation and dabbas, I found Mumbai Bookies started by Shantanu Naidu — an open-to-all community that meets on Saturday and Sunday mornings to read in silence.

It sounded too simple to be real. But I showed up.

And just like that, something old and familiar returned. I had stopped reading for a few years, always telling myself “I’ll get back to it.” Turns out, I just needed a space. No pressure. No expectations. Just people, books, and quiet.

I didn’t just want to read—I wanted to talk about books.

That’s where Fable came in. A digital space where I could track, review, and start my own book club, it’s going hot with 6 members. Here’s the link if you wanna join.

Mumbai Bookies has given me more than just books. It’s given me stories around the books. Here are some of my favourites:

The Little Teachers
In one session, students from local government schools read to us. Confidently. Loudly. Like teachers. And for a moment, the roles were reversed — they were the storytellers. It broke the idea that reading is a solo or elite activity. It became clear: when kids read aloud to adults, it doesn’t just help them — it empowers a whole community to rethink learning as a two-way street.

The Penguin Book Haul
Penguin India organised a haul for us — 1500 books, one tote bag per person. The fastest 150 got to register. The twist? We thought we could stuff as many books as we could carry. Turns out, we could only take 10. But honestly, no complaints. It was pure joy.

“Anything But a Bag” Challenge
That one time, the challenge was to bring your books in anything but a bag. I teamed up with a friend, we fashioned a bag out of a t-shirt and a hanger. Functional? Kinda. Fun? Absolutely. We won a book for it too.

The Hidden Book Challenge
Every session has a mystery book wrapped in paper. Guess the page count, win the book. I was just 2 pages off — not once, but twice. Still hurts.