Something like the Netflix of books, Bookoholics.com is an emerging book rental company that loans out books on demand via postal service for a nominal monthly subscription fee. In a relatively short time, they've amassed a catalogue of more than fourteen hundred titles solely through book donations. To my thinking, this low-cost and potentially high-impact model is a prime example of the commodity of innovation, which has in recent years torn the economic spotlight away from India's established manufacturing powerhouse.
That such a venture should start up in Surat of all places bodes well for a city which is here often viewed in the same prism we Americans (perhaps only somewhat unfairly) pigeonhole New Jersey - that is, a land better suited for churning out producers than poets; where the only parks are industrial; a place where the romance of India's timelessness goes up on trial in sweat shops and commercial retail outlets.
Meetings like the one Bookoholics.com sponsors aren't just a place for idle gabbing; they're creating a free, public space for people to come together for the purpose of doing something (anything!) besides merely spending money. That, I believe, is a wonderful thing which is too often forgotten in the din of development.
Spearheaded by Mr. Rahul Kedia, Bookoholics.com is a refreshing idea whose value-added isn't just a culture of literacy, but a literacy of culture.
You can find out more about the Bookoholics by visiting their website, www.bookoholics.com.
A video of my speech may be found by clicking here.
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