Jaipur Book Lovers Is 100

 

 

 

Hashtag for the 100th meetup is    #JBL100

 

 

 

 

It took them more than three years but Jaipur Book Lovers turns 100 on 2nd June 2019. And to let the world know about it they not only are going to make some noise about it but they are going to celebrate the occasion in style.

They have booked KRISHNAYAN from 5 pm  at the Jawahar Kala Kendra on JLN Marg, Jaipur on 2nd June 2019 for a gathering of 100 persons. Instead of a regular meetup they are going to hold a quiz  and other games having information related to books as theme. They are going to give away discount vouchers from a local book store as prizes. A member has generously agreed to donate a book shaped cake for the occasion. Others are donating their time and some are chipping in with money. This collection drive is a necessary as the participation in the JBL is completely free of cost.

JBL, as Jaipur Book Lovers Club is fondly known among members, is getting a limited edition coat pin cast in the shape of their logo. This pin is to be sold at cost to cost basis to the members on 2nd June.

JBL has die hard fans among all age groups. Here is what they have to say about JBL.

This is what Mr.Anurag Bhatnagar has to say about the club.

“Jaipur Book Lovers is a Book lovers dream. I had been searching in Universities Language Departments, with Bookstores and organisations like Crossword, JKK, elusive groups like the Pratibha Foundation. I even asked around at the JLF but was always disappointed.

It reminded me of

” My self when young frequented many saint; and heard great argument ; But evermore came out by the same door as in I went” as my Guru  Omar Khayyam would have said.

Then, I found myself at a JBL meetup about two years back . It has got my synapses , whatever are left, crackling, the serotonin flowing and the    neurons stirring again.

I love JBL for getting me fired up again, chastened  by the huge gaps in my reading over at least the last two decades and I love the passion of the members, young and old , specially the young have for reading books.

We have a lot to thank the older members for maintaining such class at JBL.”

Another member, Ankit Bohre,  who has moved out of town says, ” I miss coming to meetups, now Sundays are boring.”

‘जयपुर बुक्स लवर्स’- मुझे जयपुर में मिलने वाली सबसे अच्छी चीज़ों में से एक है, हालाँकि इस बात का हमेशा मलाल रहेगा कि बहुत देर से इस क्लब के बारे में पता चला ओर मैं ज़्यादा समय नहीं दे पाई। पुस्तकस्थ जो विद्या है उसे कैसे व्यवहारिक जीवन में उतारना है, अथवा किस पुस्तक में क्या सीख है यह observe करना मैंने इस क्लब से सीखा। पुस्तकों से प्यार तो मुझे बहुत है, पर समयाभाव से पढ़ नहीं पाती हूँ- पर इस क्लब के माध्यम से मुझे सतत पढ़ने की प्रेरणा मिलती है, और एक ही पुस्तक को कितनी प्रकार से पढ़ा जा सकता है- यह भी मैंने यहाँ जाना। हालाँकि मैं अधिक समय तक मीट-अप्स में शामिल नहीं हो पाई पर फिर भी इतने कम समय में जो सबसे सीखा- और नये शहर में जो आत्मीयता पाई, उसके लिये आभारी रहूँगी। यह क्ल ऐसे ही अनवरत रूप से चलता रहे, इसी भावना के साथ- विपाशा जैन

“I have been part of the JBL group since the last few months and already it has had a huge impact on me. I have been reading books since the last 7 years and was looking for a platform where I could share about what I have read and could also get info on other books and authors worth reading. The Book lovers group has proved to be that exact platform. Through it I have come to know about many different interesting books, reading them will surely improve my understanding of life and the world and also help me grow as a person.

The members of JBL come from different walks of life. Different cultural and social backgrounds. Different age groups and academic backgrounds.

This makes JBL a perfect group to have discussions.

I enjoy the experience of being the JBL meet up and later on also enjoy the memories of it.

It is my personal endeavour to bring the best of books to the group so all members can benefit from it.

I sincerely remain committed to Jaipur Book lovers group.

I take this opportunity to thank each and every member of the group for letting me be a part of their group and giving me a chance to express my views. With the 100th meetup of the group coming up, I congratulate the founders of the group for conceiving, creating,developing and nurturing such a noble community of book lovers I wish them all the best.”  – Prasanjeet

For Ms. Vandana Varma JBL is” a Plethora of intellectual opportunities”

 

 

Books on Sports meetup  Group Photo

 

They have a member who reads more than 50 books a year and never misses a meetup and there is another who attends the meetup just for the masala Chai and the book talk. They have about 200 active members so the meetups are well attended affairs and the discussions are lively and in depth.

Group photo after the meetup on Japanese writing

 

Meetup on books JBL inspired you to read

Is your passion reading books? Join them! They are  your tribe! Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and twitter and attend their meetings on 2nd Sunday and 4th Sunday of the month from 11 am to 1 pm. at an appointed cafe in Jaipur.

 

Hashtag for the 100th meetup is                     #JBL100

 

 

For Them Book Is The Star

 

 

 

Jaipur Book Lovers held their 99th meetup at Chaisa Cafe, Lal Kothi on, Sunday, 12th May 2019.

They were there to celebrate the Book. Because the topic for this meetup was “Books Are The Stars of JBL”. The members were free to talk about any all time favourite books of theirs.

Prasanjeet Singh talked about his all time favourite book Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.

 

Here is what he had to say about the book in his words,

“It is a story of a wooden puppet and his adventures and journey. The puppet does not listen to his father Gepetto and runs away from him and always ends up in trouble.He makes bad friends who try to cheat him. He once ends up in a far away land and also comes across a fairy. Later on he is captured by a magician who tries to use him for his magic shows. Eventually  he is united with his father after being swallowed by the big dog fish which is so big that  it can swallow a whole ship. The wooden puppet is creation of one Master Cherry. The book is very fascinating and it takes you on a surreal journey. I was personally in a very happy state of mind while reading it and cut off from the rest of the world. Written in 19 century in Italy by Carlo Collodi whose   real name was Carlo Lorenzini has used some very fascinating terms such as – Land of miracles, the inn of the red crawfish. The book is beautifully written and has a few unique words as well which will improve the readers’s vocabulary. It remains my favorite book. ”

 

Ms.Santana talked about the Lizard Cage by Karen Connelly, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi and Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks.

 

Dr.Ruchir Sodani talked about these books. He is a big Asimov fan!

 

Two new members

The two Abhisheks

The Group Photo!

 

Till we meet again to talk about some more books.

 

 

 

Life On The Banks Of The Chambal

This post is for the nature lovers amongst us.
These are  pictures of some of the life at the Bhadrawati Safari Lodge Savti Sawaimadhopur. If you want to spend some time comuning with nature on your holiday this is the place to be!

Jungle Babler

Whitethroat

Oriental Magpie Robin

Common Sitting Area At Bhadrawati Safari Lodge

Chambal

A fisherman working the Chambal at daybreak

sunrise on the Chambal

Mandana at the common area at the Bhadrawati Safari Lodge on the Chambal

Pampas Grass- Sunset

parrot

Swiss Cottages at the Bhadrawati Safari Lodge

Pampas Grass

Pampas Grass

Rufous treepie

On the banks of the Chambal – An Album    

Bhadrawati Safari Lodge Sawaimadhopur

Why Love Jaipur?

Teej Festival

Living in Jaipur is as difficult or as easy as living any where else but here are some reasons why you will fall in love with Jaipur.

In the twelve months of a year you get to experience a whole gamut of  weather in Jaipur. There is hot summer, cold winter, hot & humid monsoons & the season when the winter just drifts in. Just when you are thinking I have had enough of this heat or cold or the rains the seasons change, and life goes on.

And with the change of season the eating habits also change. What food! In the monsoons you eat choorma dal baati in some picnic spot in the lap of the Aravali’s which are covered with solid green because of the rains. If you do not have time for a picnic a spot of rain & people are flocking the sweet shops for their favourite snack like samosa, pyaz ki kachri or mirchi bara or if they are watching their weight then they are sipping a hot cup of tea or a cup of coffee at the CCD. In the winters they are eating lal mans or khichda or drinking hot rabri. In summers they drink lassi & eat different varieties of mangoes which keep changing as the summer progresses.

Jaipur is a heaven for the photography enthusiast. Jaipur has it all. Besides the concrete jungle it also has monuments,huge forts, mountains, an artificially maintained fresh water lake, ancient havelies, temples, bazars, palaces, festivals, friendly people, flowers,birds & photography accessory shops.

Jaipur is doing its best to catch up with the four metropolitan cities of New Delhi,Mumbai,Kolkata & Chennai but life is still laid back & the distances are not what they are in the other metros. You can still drop by a friend for a drink or dinner an evening.

The festivals Jaipur celebrate around the year make sure that there is no ennui in the life of the people of Jaipur. Some major festivals are, holi, deepawali, raakhi,teej,gangaur and makkar sankranti.

If you thought all of the above would keep the people of Jaipur busy enough around the year, you would be wrong, because there are the Jaipur weddings! Some people just go to court to get married but others have such weddings that people from all corner of the world come to Jaipur to get married in a Jaipuri wedding.

These are some of the top reasons to love Jaipur. If you think otherwise please list your choices here below.

Jaipur Life

Jaipur (IV)

Here in Jaipur the old and new worlds meet;

The forts,the temples,and the palaces

Look out on legislative offices

And schools and hospitals.This wide grave street

Worn by three centuries of slippered feet

And tripping pads of camels branches out

In roads that go impartially to meet

Old pleasure-gardens and new factories.

Here is a future growing from past beauty

Owning past inspiration-and a duty

To all men of all trades to build a city

Known for flourish of its industries;

Its roads made smooth for ordinary men

And knowledge climbing stairs to soar again.

R.N.CURREY,INDIAN LANDSCAPE:A BOOK OF DESCRIPITVE POEMS,PUB.ROUTLEDGE,LONDON,1947

R.N.Curry spent three years in India and was prize winner of Lord Wavell’s All India Poetry Competition.