Every Saturday, a group of people with a shared interest in reading books gathers at Anna Nagar Tower Park from 6:30 am to 9:30 a.m to discuss books and connect with each other through meaningful conversations.
The community was started by Krishnakumar A.S after observing that many reading communities mostly function outside the city and on only on Sundays. To make it accessible within the city, he started a community that meets every Saturday at Anna Nagar Tower Park. His Instagram page Tower Reads brings people together and helps expand the community. For the past three years, these weekly meetups have been taking place at the Tower Park.
This community has also conducted a book launch ceremony for a Tamil author Imaiyam’s book ‘Thandakaaranyathil seethai’’ earlier during Dec 2025. Members described author Imaiyam as one of the most celebrated authors in Tamil literature. Krishnakumar personally recommended author Imaiyam’s book ‘Sellatha Panam,’ a Sahitya Akademi award-winning novelto many readers.
One of their regular meetups was held on Saturday, May 09, 2026. This session also had many avid readers enjoying their favourite books. Priya, who is a MNC employee said that she came to know about the community through a friend and has since become a regular participant in the meetups. She shared that attending the meetups serves as an escape from her regular 9-5 job and helps her feel relaxed. According to her, the community encouraged her to read more books. Speaking about her favourite book, The Kite Runner, she said she connected emotionally to the characters Hassan and Amir.
Praveen, a newcomer to Chennai, explained how this community helped him connect with different people and explore the city. He also mentioned that initially he joined the community with the motive of improving his English reading habit, especially through self-help books, but eventually started reading more Tamil books and began enjoying them. He shared that his favourite book is Thaai Paal (Tamil). He also felt that the book Magizhchi Malargal (Tamil) should have had a different ending, at least to make the readers feel happy.
Tamil, another member of the community shared that his favourite book is A Thousand Splendid Suns. He said the book emotionally moved him despite not belonging to that culture. He also mentioned that his favourite author is Albert Camus, the French writer.
Monish, the youngest member of the community has recently completed his class 12 and planning to pursue studies related to media. He explained how the community introduced him to new perspectives and ideas through interaction with people belonging to different age groups.
Sylvester, another member of this community shared that he started exploring books beyond his usual interests after joining this community and felt enriched by reading different genres. He mentioned that his favourite book is The Social Life of Animals, saying that the book begins with the life of a fish, contains several interesting facts, and eventually connects them to human life, which made him curious about the world and the life around him.
Several members said the community helped them build reading habits, meet new people and explore different perspectives of life and writing. Arun is one among the regular readers at the meetups now. Like Praveen, he had recently moved to Chennai. He said that his favourite book is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
Sathya joined the community in an unexpected way. During her jogging in the park, he noticed people discussing books which sparked his interest. Later, he joined the community and started reading regularly. He mentioned that his favourite book is Kutty Ilavarasan (Tamil).
Akila, a new member of the community said that it has been only two weeks since she joined the community. Like Arun, she also said that engaging with new people and learning about their perspectives is a new experience for her and she enjoys it.
The reading community at Anna Nagar Tower Park not only promotes the habit of reading books, it builds friendships through exchange of ideas, exploring literature and meaningful conversations.
As the members dispersed after their customary cup of tea at a simple tea stall closeby, they carried with them not just books, but new ideas, friendships and perspectives.
Photos by Anusha Vinodhinee
Cover Image: Tower Reads Instagram page
Student Intern during April – June 2026