A Pleasant Evening at the Evening Hour

The Evening Hour (www.eveninghour.com) is a wonderful concept - a library, bookstore, coffee shop and a movie watching and conference space rolled into one. More of a library and bookstore, the Evening Hour goes by the appropriate tag line of "Relax, Refresh and Rejoice", and is located in the heart of Kukatpally (in the lane adjacent to JNTU, and accessible to a lot of the reading public in that area). I was very impressed with the concept just as I was with the young owner Priyanka, whom I met through Rama Raju. Over a few mails we fixed up a book reading cum a Meet-the-Author session on the 20th of February.
It turned out to be a very pleasant evening with a well read and highly interactive crowd. For starters I was welcomed into the store with a lovely bouquet and we were soon drawn into a freewheeling discussion on my journey as a writer. There were several questions on being published, the process of writing a novel, the state of writing in India, whether it makes commercial sense to write at all, how to sign up movie deals and so on and so forth. It being a bandh-like situation yesterday due to the Telangana issue, the audience was sparse in the beginning, but it gradually swelled as the evening progressed.
Priyanka's father was very effusive in his praise for 'The Men Within' which he said was one of the few books that he had read at one go. It was very heartening to hear his views on 'The Men Within' and its many layers. There were a few others in the audience who were either reading the book or had read it.
I did a reading from 'The Men Within' as well as 'If You Love Someone'. Choudary drove me there, Nalini and Ajay dropped in and Shobha and Anjali joined us halfway through the program. We enjoyed the lovely samosas, soft drinks and the hopistality thoroughly. The program ended by about 8 p.m.
I am glad that there are young entrepreneurs like Priyanka who are encouraging the reading habit through such wonderful concepts. The Evening Hour has a good selection of books and videos at a very affordable price. It is clean, well lit and has a good display. Not only that, the Evening Hour has a facility where the book/video can be delivered at home. The Meet-The-Auhor initiative is a wonderful one and I do wish there are more people like Priyanka who take up such initiatives. And Priyanka herself should do more such events in the future. Thanks Priyanka and your team for a truly memorable and enjoyable evening. And for the record, I am available whenever you want me for an event!