Poet Ranjit Hoskote at a previous edition of Read A Kitaab
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Read A Kitaab is hosting a two-day literature festival in Bengaluru on October 10 and 11 at Atta Galatta in Indiranagar. They have hosted two editions in Mumbai, where the book-club began four years ago; this will be the festival’s debut in Bengaluru.
Founded by Ekta Bhandari and Anurag Kothari, Read A Kitaab initially started as a book community that hosted meetings in Mumbai and online. Today, they have chapters across 12 cities in India with over thirty thousand members. Their book-club hosts thematic monthly book-meets and online Book of the Month discussions.
“It is a community that was built with the aim of bringing back a love for reading and the written word. The idea was to nudge people to read more and broaden their perspectives,” says Ekta.
After Mumbai, their second chapter was launched in Bengaluru. Talking about their Bengaluru readers, Ekta says it has been three years since the book club began here, and adds, “the participants have always been eclectic and provided diverse insights into discussions.”
Anurag says, “The way literature has been nurtured in Bengaluru is quite different. We have seen readers from different age groups, from little child and adults to senior citizens participate.” He highlights Atta Galatta’s continued assistance, “From hosting our monthly meets to our first ever literature festival in Bengaluru, we have always received tremendous support from them.”
The founders want this initiative to be a travelling literature festival that goes from city to city, with a focus on authors and poets from those regions. Their reason for choosing Bengaluru is clear — the number of authors based in the city as well as their active book-club members.
The festival is hosting prominent authors including Vivek Shanbagh, Milan Vohra, Mani Rao, Shinie Anthony and others. Academic and philosopher Sundar Sarukkai, sports journalists Sandeep Menon and Sharda Ugra who will hold discussions during the festival.
“We want to create new readers with this festival,” says Ekta, adding, “Bring a friend who has never read a book and get them to attend these interesting panels. They might change their minds.” The panel discussions will revolve around topics such as romance, poetry, music, cinema, mental health and more.
“The speciality of this festival is that all the panellists moderating the sessions are readers with the club, and not professional moderators.”
The Read A Kitaab Literature Festival will take place on October 10 and 11 at Atta Galatta. Entry is free with registration. For details visit readakitaab.com
Published – October 09, 2026 08:33 pm IST
