On a Sunday morning in New Delhi’s Lodhi Garden, readers hovered through the fog and filthy air to read on the grass under the winter sun. The air quality index was in the “hazardous” zone, but the readers came anyway, armed with books ranging from investment guides to graphic novels.
“I saw this on Instagram,” said one passer-by to another, pausing to survey the group reading. “It’s a silent book club.”
This particular silent reading club was organised by Bahrison’s Booksellers: around 150 people signed up to attend the first such session on November 9, eventually drawing around 30 people to read on a patch of grass behind the historic monuments. Titles included works by everyone from George Orwell to Colson Whitehead.
The reading culture in Delhi has expanded to include silent reading clubs. From Bahrison’s Sunday Reading Club and Lodhi Reads to Deer Park Reads, serious readers have been gathering to read together.
Anuj Bahri Malhotra, owner of Bahrisons Book Store, pose for a picture outside his store in Khan Market
| Photo Credit:
SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
Creating a sense of community
Avenues like silent book clubs also give readers a chance to build a community around a typically-solo act like reading.
That is exactly what drew Gursimran Kaur, a 26-year-old pastry chef, to her first meetup. “I’m an introvert, but I like being around people,” she explained.
Parents Aditya and Priyanka Bhojgadhiya turned the club into a family outing — including a baby book for their 15-month-old.
“After having a child, it’s hard to find the time and calm to read at home,” Aditya said. “This was a wonderful way to reconnect with both Nature and with books, and we want to raise our child with this habit too.”
Sabir Hassan, a 32-year-old UX/UI designer, pointed out that he had been searching for an environment conducive to reading. “ “Reading is a lost art. And the ‘loneliness epidemic,’ as they say, is a thing — this is also a form of community-building,” he says.
This is exactly why one PhD scholar from Kolkata felt a sense of familiarity reading with strangers in Lodhi Garden, an experience he said was helping him connect with the city he had just moved to. A group of four 18-year-old friends from Janki Devi Memorial College also used the book club as a way to spend time together, planning a whole day around it: reading in the park, followed by cafe-hopping.
“This was a nice change from rotting in bed on Sunday,” laughed Gunjan, who already runs her own book club with her friends which she finds difficult to organise, given everyone’s different commitments and schedules.
For Sachin Sharoshiya, a 28-year-old dietician and fitness trainer, it was a deliberate act of aspiration and self-care. “I work seven days a week — I thought I should do something that’s just for myself. Fitness is my passion, but I also wanted to improve and grow,” he explained, saying he is not just a “gym bro.” His book of choice was Radhika Agarwal’s Red Flags and Rishtas: A Desi Rom Com — a book he had bought after hearing the club’s organiser Aashna Malhotra’s podcast on the same book. “It was so cool to hear someone discussing a book like that,” he said. Now, surrounded by strangers doing the same quiet thing, he found what he was looking for: “This was very peaceful. I’ll come again next Sunday.”
The performance of reading
Books have always been a symbol of culture and refinement, but social media trends like #BookTok and #Bookstagram have driven a different kind of consumption — many want to be seen with books even if they do not read it. A common grouse surrounding another Delhi bookshop, Faqir Chand Bookstore, is that most visitors would rather take a photo outside their iconic Khan Market storefront rather than buy from them.
“Social media is changing reading trends and patterns,” observed Aashna Malhotra, a third-generation bookseller-in-training whose family runs Bahrison’s across Delhi and other cities. “Reading or at least being seen with and around books is becoming cool again. Many readers find what to read from social media, which means new authors are being discovered, and old ones rediscovered,” she added.
Working at Bahrisons and hosting The Reading List podcast brought her closer to serious readers, who would often ask her if the bookstore ran a book club. It is what inspired her to start the gatherings.
“Finding like-minded people is difficult nowadays, whether you’re young or old. If this is another avenue to do that without pressure or monetary commitment, then why not,” she said. “It’s more encouragement for you to read.”
thered at Lodhi Garden to silently read book together, in New Delhi on Sunday morning
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Lodhi Garden as a location on a Sunday morning made sense: walking distance from Bahrison’s flagship store. While another reading community had cancelled their own gathering due to the AQI — however, readers and organisers are not worried about the overlap.
“The more people reading the better!” said Aashna, who’s planning to also collaborate with existing groups and eventually find indoor spaces to read together when the weather turns.
Published – November 14, 2025 11:17 am IST