Book vending machines at two railway stations in city pique curiosity

Two newly-installed vending machines — 1 connected level 6 of the Central railway station, and the different astatine the westbound entranceway of Tambaram railway presumption — are not dispensing coffee, chips oregon acold drinks, but thing much for your bid journey. They drawback the oculus of a scholar rushing past, for these dispense stories: fiction, non-fiction, and children’s enactment books.

Book vending machines are nary novelty — they are seen successful Exeter, Tokyo, Changi, and different corners of the world, A fewer beryllium successful India too, but Tamil Nadu witnesses its first, curated by 26-year-old lit postgraduate Mayawathi G.V.

Holding 23 antithetic titles and 200 books astatine a time, this perpetually unfastened kiosk carries bestsellers of Khaled Hosseini, Evelyn Hugo, and English to Tamil translated books astatine a retail terms and accepts UPI payment.

“Bringing a publication vending instrumentality to Chennai has ever been my dream, and here, trains and books spell hand-in-hand. Southern Railways person been supportive throughout,” Ms. Mayawathi said.

“We realise that speechmaking habits are dipping successful cities, and we request to bash thing astir it. So far, children’s activity books person been selling well,” she added. As books are besides being bought past midnight, she plans to rotate titles and present genres to the tome trove.

“You cognize that thrill erstwhile you decorativeness a publication and privation to suggest it to others? That’s the feeling I had portion curating the vending machine. But since readers can’t linger implicit blurbs oregon browse done pages similar they would successful a bookstore, I loaded the instrumentality with planetary bestsellers nether ₹300,” she said.

Corporate employees and bestfriends Jashwanth and Teja were astatine the Chennai Central erstwhile the publication dispenser made the inquisitive travellers pause. “Honestly, we hadn’t thought of carrying a publication connected a bid journey, but this inaugural is mildly nudging america to.