Manipur: New reading spaces for students are trending in Imphal

ARestrained tree to consider among books and journals, uninterrupted Wi-Fi, get at to an committed café, the occasional poetry-reading session, and an affordable monthly subscription. These are the primary attractions pulling youngsters to the dozens of the privately-run reading spaces that have mushroomed in Imphal over the past few years.Nearly 40-50 private reading or study halls, as they are known locally, have opened in Imphal East and West and in the neighbouring Kakching districts. Students and aspirants for competitive exams are among those using these spaces to focus on academics, the owners said.The Covid pandemic and then the ongoing ethnic unrest fuelled the need for these community spaces, the owners said, adding that members find them convenient and safe, giving them the opportunity to focus on studies. Monthly subscriptions aren’t prohibitive either: between ₹700 and ₹1200 a month.Online school and college classes and working-from-home became common in the state during and in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. Following the outbreak of ethnic violence in May, 2003, which again disrupted daily lives and academic routines, students began to look for safe alternatives.The new and curated spaces are filling that demand. “Some years ago, there were just few places to read in Imphal. Even I would run from place to another to get a seat at one such facility as there were limited seats at that point of time,” said Naorem Ramayi, a software developer who now runs a reading hall called ‘The Intellect Space” in the heart of Imphal town.Also Read:UP govt launches reading drive in schools to reduce screen time“So that’s how I came up with the idea of setting up such a reading hub to cater to the need of readers especially those who have completed their studies and preparing for different national level exams,” Ramayi said.L Ramachandra, an engineering graduate and a government job-aspirant from Sagolband Nepra Menjor area in Manipur’s Imphal, agreed. Ramachandra found reading books and surfing the internet at “Oasis” -- a popular reading and co-working space in Imphal – to be convenient for preparing for the state civil service exams,“The emergence of such study rooms is already producing concrete effects. Students and job aspirants are more focused…while their parents and guardians are more assured that their wards are in a safe and positive space,” said a regular visitor at one of the reading halls in Imphal, who asked not be named.The new hubs are proving to be viable alternatives for students from big families and for those from the economically disadvantaged ones – a sanctuary to read and study away from cramped homes and patchy internet.Many visitors to the reading hubs located along the Imphal’s Keishampat to Airport Road area, with an average seating capacity of 20-40, are those preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and other all-India competitive tests, a staff member of the of Keishampat Reading Space in Imphal’s Keishampat said.The halls aren’t for only academics. “These spaces are no longer just for studying — they are safe and quiet places where young people can focus, discipline themselves and connect with a larger community of learners,” wrote Merlyn Lamabam in her article ‘Surge of Reading culture in Imphal: Rise of Reading rooms and Libraries’ published in a local daily.