![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/origin_1.jpg\"\/)
Readers pose for a photograph during their visit to Haridwar, hosted by The Bookworm; and (below) a Kashmiri-themed dinner hosted by the club in Jalandhar.<\/p>\nReaders pose for a photograph during their visit to Haridwar, hosted by The Bookworm; and (below) a Kashmiri-themed dinner hosted by the club in Jalandhar.<\/p>\n
Even as books steadily cede ground to social media and artificial intelligence in an age dominated by digital distractions, The Bookworms, a Jalandhar-based book club founded in 2017 by disability rights activist and NGO Soch founder Anjali Dada along with fellow book lovers Jaesryna Sachdeva, Niyamat Bhaskar and Nandini Aggarwal, is rekindling a passion for the written word.<\/p>\n
What began as a simple exchange of books and ideas among a handful of women friends has since evolved into a thriving 98-member community that blends literature with immersive, real-world experiences, turning reading into both an intellectual pursuit and a feast for the senses.<\/p>\n
A reading of Rocky Mohan\u2019s \u2018Wazwan\u2019 and Basharat Peer\u2019s \u2018Curfewed Night\u2019, for instance, was accompanied by a sumptuous Kashmir-themed dinner spread, complete with traditional Kashmiri silverware and members dressed in pashmina and intricately embroidered finery. When the club read Devdutt Pattanaik\u2019s \u2018My Gita\u2019, members travelled to Haridwar and witnessed the Ganga Aarti, immersing themselves in the spiritual essence of the text. Similarly, a discussion of Jane Austen\u2019s \u2018Pride and Prejudice\u2019 was paired with an English high tea served on an elegant Chinoiserie-themed spread.<\/p>\n
To ensure every participant has a chance to contribute, the club now hosts two meetings every month. Through its unique blend of literature, culture, travel and sensory experiences, The Bookworms is proving that in the digital age, the love of reading can still inspire, connect and flourish.<\/p>\n
The club\u2019s members come from diverse professional backgrounds, including medical practitioners, bloggers, artists, homemakers, healers, activists, entrepreneurs, podcasters and educationalists, with women forming the overwhelming majority of its membership. Such has been the popularity of the initiative that the club, which began as an exclusively women-only space, eventually opened its doors to men following repeated requests from interested readers.<\/p>\n
Over the years, the club has expanded its activities far beyond conventional book discussions. Members regularly visit places associated with the books they read, organise book-themed teas, lunches and literary gatherings, recommend and watch film adaptations and host interactions with authors.<\/p>\n
The Bookworms\u2019 influence is now extending to a younger generation as well. The club recently launched the Junior Bookworms, bringing together 25 young readers aged between 13 and 19. The junior chapter will host similar monthly meetings aimed at fostering a love for books and meaningful discussions among children and teenagers.<\/p>\n
Among the club\u2019s most cherished initiatives are its \u201cno-talk\u201d reading sessions. During these gatherings, members arrive in their most comfortable clothes and spend a few uninterrupted hours reading together in silence. The Bookworms\u2019 Instagram feed reflects this ethos, featuring images of women in pyjamas and casual wear reading beneath warm lamps or beside scenic windows \u2014 snapshots of quiet serenity in an increasingly noisy world.<\/p>\n
To support readers who struggle to find uninterrupted time at home, the club also hosts a dedicated calm reading space once every month, offering participants an opportunity to read in peace and without distractions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re now a group of 98 members in total, most of them women. The junior chapter also started recently,\u201d said Anjali Dada, founder of The Bookworms. \u201cWe\u2019ve hosted Jane Austen-themed readings and celebrated Fredrik Backman\u2019s \u2018A Man Called Ove\u2019. We\u2019ve welcomed authors such as Sumant Batra in person and Haroon Khalid through video calls. Over time, many authors began approaching us directly, which led us to start special meet-and-greet sessions. The power of people meeting and talking is immense, and what began as a book club has grown into a sisterhood that seeks to uplift every member.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApart from the fact that reading and discussing books is becoming a dying practice, it is also a forgotten art,\u201d said member Niyamat Bhaskar. \u201cBooks evoke such powerful emotions and have the ability to completely transport you into another world. Social media can never come close to that experience. When you visit the Ganga Aarti at Haridwar or prepare a meal inspired by a book, the writing becomes something that stays with you forever and is ingrained in your soul.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Readers pose for a photograph during their visit to Haridwar, hosted by The Bookworm; and (below) a Kashmiri-themed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-218388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}