02 | HINDUSTAN TIMES, MUMBAIFRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015

What’s your story?

SWITCH OFF. UNWIND. EXPLORE

The No TV Weekend is finally here. In the run-up, we suggest ways in which you can celebrate with friends and family.Don’t miss: HT’s exciting events and prizes. Join the celebration on facebook.com/htnotvday and twitter.com/htnotvday

READ This No TV Weekend, swap yarns, host a book club meet, dress up as an anime character.Spend your time exchanging the books that have most touched you, with your literary soulmates

Kanika Sharma■ kanika.sharma@hindustantimes.com

One way to spend the No TV Day week-end is with soulmates — people who were as heartbroken as you when theWeasley twins died, and as exhilaratedby Gandalf ’s return.

Bring alive the storyteller in you.Move those piles of books that havebeen hogging the furniture and start a conversation with other readers.

You can organise a book club yourself— pick a novel, or a theme, or both, andinvite friends over. Or, if you’d preferto outsource, spend the long weekendsampling the reading groups and bookexchange clubs scattered across the city.

Deepak Gupta, 33, works in the mer-chant navy and started one such groupin August 2012. Called Book Exchange Club of Mumbai, it encourages membersto swap their favourite reads and discussthe new books they have discovered.

Meets are held on the weekends, across restaurants in Bandra, Juhu,Fort, Worli, Lower Parel, Nariman Point,Ghatkopar and Belapur.

“It’s a great way to meet new peoplefrom different age groups and profes-sions, pass on old books and take homesomething new,” Gupta says. It’s alsoa great way to come across books you might otherwise never have read.

“With every session, we meet as stran-gers but books are the medium throughwhich we open up to each other,” sayshomemaker Reeta Gandhi, 34, a memberof BEC since 2013. “I was new to thecity then and I yearned to find fellow booklovers. Because of the confidenceI gained in the book club, I have even started conducting storytelling sessionsfor companies and for street children.”

Gandhi says the club introduced herto PG Wodehouse and Brian Weiss, but ifsuperheroes and heroines are more yourthing, you could opt for the Mumbai AnimeClub. Members here range from 20-year-old college students to 60-year-old retirees.

“One of the best things about being inMumbai Anime Club is the people you get to meet,” says Ankur Chakravarty,23, a Mira Road resident, content writerand ardent fan of the Japanese Manga comic form. “I used to be so quiet, alwayskeeping to a corner, observing silently.Through the club I found people who shared my interests, and I felt like I couldbe myself with them. These friends havechanged me and become an integral part of my life.”

Anime is also an ideal theme for a book-based costume party. You and yourfriends can attend dressed as Kakashifrom the anime Naruto or a characterfrom Dragon Ball Z.

There are also storytellingclubs where you can pre-serve the oral tradition andtake turns being creatorand listener. Storytellingclub Katha Kosa (which means Treasury of Storiesin Prakrit) is one such plat-form. Started by profes-sional storytellerDhara Kothariin 2012, it invitespeople to weave andlisten to narrations ofstories based on real life, fic-tion, mythology and fables.

“You can share storiesfrom books or movies, things you heard or readabout, anything, as longas it is a story to share and listen to,” Kotharisays. “We usually pick a theme — seasons, travels, ‘once upon a time’ and so on.

We also create games and activities basedon storytelling, to ensure that everyonegets to participate without feeling out of

place or shy. There are no rules. You caneven come and listen to stories, even ifyou have none to share.”

And then there’s Tall Tales (foradults) and Small Tales(the children’s version),

which organisesyarn-weaving ses-

sions on weekends. “Small Tales helps give

young people a deeperappreciation andunderstanding of sto-

ries, encouraging them tospin yarns and skip boredom,”

says founder Gayatri Aptekar, a professional storyteller.

HINDUSTAN TIMES OFFERS YOU...We have lots lined up for you throughout No TV Weekend. Here’s a look at the schedule highlights

To register or view the full list of events, go to notvday.hindustantimes.com

ON FRIDAY, CHECK OUT

ON SATURDAY, CHECK OUT

ON SUNDAY, CHECK OUT

OPEN-DECK BUS RIDES Breeze through south Mumbai atop an open-deck bus. Collect passes at the Coomaraswamy Hall gate of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj museum between 3pm and 3.15pm. Hop on for an hour-long ride at 4.30pm

TREASURE HUNT Do you know your city well enough? Test your knowledge of Mumbai at 6pm, at Shivaji Park, Dadar

MUMBAI CYCLOTHON Join us on a fun bike ride! Do bring your own bicycle and cycling gear. Assembly time is 6am, at Lucky Restaurant, Bandra

STAND-UP COMEDYGet ready to laugh your heart out with Arzan Khambatta and Neville Bharucha. 8 pm to 8.30 pm, David Sassoon Library, Kala Ghoda

HELICOPTER JOYRIDESoar hundreds of feet abovethe city and see its stunning coastline from an all-new perspective. Noon to 1 pm, at Pawan Hans, Juhu

BEER-AND-FOOD PAIRINGGet tips from the experts. Entry based on availability of space. 1 pm to 2 pm, at Irish House, Kala Ghoda

PIZZA-MAKING WORKSHOP Let Serafina show you how to roll out your pizza the Italian way. Entry based on availabil-ity of space. 5 pm to 6 pm, at Serafina, Kala Ghoda

KICKBOXING WORKSHOP WITH LEENA MOGRE Get some high-intensity aerobics and resistance train-ing for muscle-building and heart and lung fitness. 10 am to 11 am at Leena Mogre Fitness Centre, Bandra

PHIR MAINE WOH SAPNA DEKHA - A HINDI PLAY Get a peek into the experienc-es of a soldier. 7.30 pm to8.30 pm, at David SassoonLibrary, Kala Ghoda

HELICOPTER JOYRIDESoar hundreds of feet abovethe city and see its stunning coastline from an all-new perspective. Noon to 1 pm, at Pawan Hans, Juhu

RUNNING AND LIVINGRun for 5 and 10 km, make newfriends, explore your neigh-bourhood and your city. Assemble at 6.15 am at theAarey Chhota Kashmir lake parking lot, Juhu Chowpattyor Mahalaxmi racecourse

BMX STUNT BIKE SHOWWatch professional stunt per-formers perform daring stunts.9 am to 10 am, at NationalSports Club of India, Worli

WINE TASTING BY ALL THINGS NICESet out on a wine trail withsommelier Nikhil Agarwaland taste an assortment ofvarieties and styles fromaround the world. 7.30 pm to8.30 pm, at Shiro, Worli

TOTAL FOOTBALL ANDCARD GAMES FOR KIDSForm teams, strategise andplay on an astroturf footballfield and outdoor futsalfacility. 4 pm to 6 pm, atKick, Powai

MAP YOUR DAY

■ (Clockwise from above) Book Exchange Club of Mumbai encourages members to swap their favourite reads and then discuss the books they have discovered. SmallTales, the children’s chapter of storytelling group Tall Tales, organises yarn-weaving sessions on weekends. Super Readers Club organises interactive storytelling andbook-exploration sessions ideal for children aged two-and-a-half to 12, with meets addressed by children’s authors too.

■ Fans of anime can organisea cosplay party where guestscome dressed as theirfavourite character. Here,a cosplay fan dresses asRyuk, a god of death.

BOOK EXCHANGECLUB OF MUMBAIThis club has 1,150 members andholds meet-ups on weekends.Membership is free and open to all adults. In addition to exchang-ing books and discussing whatyou read, you can also join fieldtrips to literature festivals andbook donation drives for under-privileged children. This week-end, the group is organising adiscussion of An Ideal Wife withfirst-time author Sanjay Grover,who will discuss the challengesof finding a publisher.

WHERE: Laugh Out LoudVentures, opposite Andheri (East) railwaystation, on May 30, from10 am to 1 pm. Book lov-ers can also exchangebooks at the club’s openshelves in cafés across the city (see map)

FOR MORE INFORMA-TION, or to register, log on to meetup.com/book-exchange-club-of-mumbai or facebook.com/bookexchangeclubofmumbai

MUMBAI ANIME CLUBFrom art competitions to cosplay,choreographed fights, auctions,quizzes, karaoke nights and card games, the Mumbai Anime Clubis a dynamic club for lovers ofthe Japanese animation form.The club has 2,500 members onFacebook, in an age group rang-

ing from 10 to 40. TanyaShringarpure, 26, a veterinarianand administrator of the group,also provides costumes, wigs andprops on rent for cosplay.

TO SIGN UP for free or organisea hangout, go to Facebook.com/groups/macmum

FOR COSPLAY SUPPLIES,go to facebook.com/syrinxscos-playsupplies

SMALL TALESSmall Tales, an offshoot of the

Tall Tales storytellingplatform, will hold anevent titled ‘On Your Mark. Get Set. Story!’,for children aged 8 to 14, this weekend. Thethree-hour event willuse story cubes, cards,props and games to encourage the creativi-ty of the young partici-

pants and get each of them to spin a yarn. The meet will be con-ducted by founder Michael Burns,a filmmaker, and professional sto-ryteller Gayatri Aptekar.

WHERE: The Hive, off UnionPark, Khar (West)

WHEN: May 31, 11 am to 2 pm

CALL: 98205-86083; COST: Rs 1,500per child (including lunch)

TO REGISTER, go to talltales.in/smalltales.html or on.fb.me/1JCLPIG, or email small-tales@talltales.in

The Guide

Andheri

MUMBAI

Ghatkopar

Juhu

WorliLowerParel

Nariman Point

Fort

Bandra

Small Tales session, Khar

Book Exchange Club of Mumbai

Pass onthe loveof storiesto yourchildren,or make newfriendsover oldfavourites

THINKSTOCK