The first Book Club Meet– a unique and exciting experience executed by our Dynamic District Chairman Dr Manisha Kaushik was held on 18th July 2024 at the NAB, Haus Khas.
The first thought of forming a Book club had come up in the Covid year 2020-21, to inspire members to travel through time and space from the confines of their homes and then to meet virtually to discuss their experiences.
That was the seed that took root two years later in 2022-23, when two groups the English and Hindi Book Clubs were formed.
But, it is now in the new millennium year 2024-25 that the District Chairman Dr. Manisha Kaushik, an avid reader and a renowned writer herself, has taken the initiative to give the Book Club the desired visibility and a place of prominence in her scheme of things and goals this year.
PDC Mrs Karuna Bhalla,
PDC Mrs Ruchika Gupta&
PDC Mrs Mala Rishi
were given the onus to organize, curate and take charge of this Book Club Committee- A first time for District-301
All the three seniors were well chosen-
PDC Mrs Karuna Bhalla, a Margret Golding Awardee is herself an author of several books,
PDC Ruchika Gupta had in her chairmanship taken out a coffee table book ‘Roots’ a history of PDCs who have served in Inner Wheel District-301 in the last 4 decades.
PDC Mrs Mala Rishi may have an engineering degree but her fine tuning in the world of books and other spheres of knowledge made her a natural choice to lead the book club of District-301 very aptly named “Book a Bond”.
Amongst the host of enthusiastic Inner Wheel members who are or have been avid readers and share a common passion for the world of books we also have
PDC Geeta Goel
PDC Saroj Gupta
PDC Shashi Kumar
PDC Purnima Narayan
PDC Sangeeta Bharti
Dist Tres Sugandha Bharti
Dist Ed Harmeet Sehgal
Join the club
At the first Chapter of Book Club, it was actually really heartwarming to see members turn up in large numbers, some carrying their favorite books, and all a little curious and a little uncertain about what the meeting would commence into.
Our District Chairman Dr Manisha Kaushik though unable to attend had sent a very inspiring message for all.
One of the best things about the introductory meeting of the Book Club was that every member got a chance to introduce herself, speak about her experiences and say her bit on her love for books.
I soon realised that the common thread between all of us was the love for books for the major parts of our lives. But now, the all pervasive presence of technology has significantly reduced the time we devote to reading books.
Failing eyesight, too much screen time and the modern way of life are also some of the reasons why we have reduced our habit of reading.
But the palpable excitement, the constant banter, the nostalgia certainly brought back the desire to read again – and it was evident amongst all of us.
The meeting ended with the Committee Chairpersons very generously hosting the lunch and tea, coffee, snack served earlier.
All in all the “Book a Bond” Meet was a thundering success and brought with it remembrance of the beautiful past when books were our best friends- and a good read would take us to another world- the power of a pen from a good story teller would transport us to the extent that we lived the lives of the characters we loved. Nothing can beat the feel of paper. How life has changed!
Many thanks to DC Dr Manisha Kaushik and Book Club Committee Chairpersons for rekindling the desire for books and uniting District 301 through a shared passion for books.
