Bhubaneswar: A regular train journey turned into a unique literary experience on Sunday when around 100 readers and writers boarded Train No. 68429 Bhubaneswar-Daspalla MEMU as part of the Rail Reading Campaign “Gift A Book”.
The campaign was organised by East Coast Railway (ECoR) in association with Walking Book Fairs, Bhubaneswar, with the aim of promoting reading and bringing literature closer to people in their everyday surroundings.
The journey gained further significance with the participation of eminent writers Jerry Pinto, Sarat Chandra Das, Christoph Ransmayr, Aakriti Mandhwani and Chandrahas Choudhary. The writers interacted with participants and fellow passengers and shared poetry, literary experiences, thoughts and reflections.
Soon after the train departed from Bhubaneswar, around 200 books were distributed free of cost among passengers. The initiative sought to encourage people to develop or rediscover the habit of reading.
The train coach became a temporary reading space, with participants taking part in a collective silent reading session. Books, poetry, music and conversations replaced the usual distractions of a train journey, creating an atmosphere centred around literature and storytelling.
The campaign was inaugurated by Parmeshwar Funkwal, General Manager, East Coast Railway, who also joined the participants during the journey.
The literary activities continued after the train reached Daspalla. At the railway station, participants and writers took part in “Poetry on the Platform”, sharing poems and literary expressions in the distinctive setting of a railway platform.
On the return journey to Bhubaneswar, participants continued their conversations over “Mudhi Masala on the Train”, adding a local flavour to the literary gathering.
The initiative transformed an ordinary train journey into a platform for readers, writers and passengers to interact and exchange ideas. It also highlighted the possibility of taking reading beyond homes, libraries and conventional literary spaces and making it part of everyday public life.
Through the “Gift A Book” campaign, the railway became more than a mode of transportation for a day—it became a moving space for reading, conversation and literary engagement.
