There's A New Library In Mumbai & It Looks Like One Of The Cosiest Places On The Planet

There’s no greater joy than curling up in a corner with your favourite book in hand {inhale fave book smell} and submerging yourself in its world. A once-dying culture, libraries are slowly reviving in. If not larger spaces, there are homes, office cubicles and other personal areas pitching in. Mumbai cannot really give up on its library culture. And we have ‘New Page Library’ to drill that point home.

A reading room cum library, New Page has been started by Navin Kulkarni, who is the co-founder of Achieveee {digital product development studio} and his wife Neha {interior designer}. Situated in Kalyan West, it is a cosy corner for those who love reading and also connect with like-minded enthusiasts.

Both of them have a varied taste when it comes to books – while Neha likes mythology, history, romance and detective fiction, Navin tilts more towards non-fiction.

Both of them are book enthusiasts and would travel far distances to visit book fairs and stores to get their favourite books and talk to like-minded souls. This led to them starting the café in Neha’s grandmother’s home, where they did up the interiors and filled it up with books.

Now, with more than 500 books in their collection, they are happy to say that they still frequently visit stores and fairs and even shop online. They also tribute their collection to those who have donated their books to help spread this little movement.

Their aim is to help encourage a diversity of taste with different genres available for anyone to pick up. With an eclectic mix of both fiction and non-fiction, their book café is a place where people can meet, get to know one another, discuss books and enjoy themselves with some refreshments.

Some all-time favourites are the Amar Chitra Katha series, loved by kids and parents alike, mythology sets by Ashwin Sanghi and Amish Tripathi, and the Buddha series. You can also donate your old books {the more, the better!} to them and become a regular.

When asked about their plans to expand, they seemed keen. Hoping that the book café takes off and reaches more people where bibliophiles have a chance to express themselves, share common interests and even have frequent book reading sessions. All this and a café to keep you fed and watered.

The couple has not started a formal book club as yet, but intends to do so in the near future.

Membership: Monthly membership of INR 200 and yearly membership of INR 1,500.

If you’ve got the reading bug and want to mingle with like-minded souls, do drop in! Catering to children and adults alike, this library is like an oasis in the city.

There are a number of activities that happen almost every month at New Page. Take a look at their Facebook page for more details.

If you’re curious and want to know more, just contact them via Facebook and they can help answer any of your queries. They’re super friendly!