On a Saturday morning at 10 am at Kannadi cupboard – West Tambaram, stood 42 avid book readers celebrating the book reading club Lake Reads’ second anniversary with enthusiasm and happiness with one another. The event took place on April 24, 2026, in this cozy art gallery with a series of heartwarming segments that brought the neighborhood’s literary community together.
The event began with two members serving cool drinks and samosa to treat the guests before the show. Once all of them settled down and authors Latha, Naran and Jeyarani, the chief guests of the day took the stage, the show unfolded.
Arvind – the founder and curator of Chitlapakkam Lake Reads, started off by introducing the chief guests and addressed the audience with gratitude towards the people he met through the years.
Later on, Gowri Raman – a retired Tamil teacher who is part of Lake Reads since its beginning days, shared her experience of being in the club through a Tamil formal speech which gave goose bumps to many.
Elamparithi – an avid reader and a person who introduces debut writers to the forefront spoke about how Lake Reads has changed him into the person he is today.
Vidya, who is a Carnatic singer presented Thiruvalluvar’s Thirukural with a modern touch of musical notes which engrossed everyone in the melody.
A group of five book readers did a play-read from S.M.A Ram nadagangal – மணிமேகலையின்கண்ணீர். This “stay play thogupu” focused on progressive thoughts and experiences by casting Kannagi, Manimegalai and Dhroupadhi as the characters in the play-read. It was a gripping 20 minutes with many variations. Later on the guests were asked questions about their writing journey which took place for an hour.
A panel discussion and reader’s Q and A session took place. That conversation with a lot of information for the audience and book lovers created a positive impact to one another. “Romba jolly aa irundhuchu,” (It was a lot of fun) said Diya a 6th grader and a book lover, who came to the art gallery as an audience.
The highlight of the afternoon was the unveiling of their curated anthology of debut writers and poets, titled “reader’s lakelet” by Muthuvel – a member of lake reads and unveiled by the chief guest authors.
The organisers provided the authors with goodies and stickers as a gift to elevate the surroundings. Once the event got over everyone took pictures with the authors and a group photo was taken to capture the memories. Everyone bade Goodbyes and the event ended in a smooth manner.
Want to read by the lake? Just show up at the Chitlapakkam Lake on Saturdays 6.30 am to 8.30 am!
Photos by Varnika A
Student Intern during April – June 2026