Bhubaneswar: A regular train journey turned into a celebration of books and literature on Sunday as around 100 readers and writers boarded the Bhubaneswar–Daspalla MEMU for a unique literary experience under the Rail Reading Campaign “Gift A Book”.
Organised by East Coast Railway in association with Walking Book Fairs, Bhubaneswar, the campaign transformed Train No. 68429 into a moving reading space, bringing together readers, writers and passengers through books, poetry, music and conversations.
Adding to the literary flavour of the journey, eminent writers Jerry Pinto, Sarat Chandra Das, Christoph Ransmayr, Aakriti Mandhwani and Chandrahas Choudhary joined the participants. They shared poetry, literary experiences and reflections while interacting with readers and fellow passengers, creating an informal space for exchange of ideas.
Soon after the train departed from Bhubaneswar, around 200 books were distributed free among passengers. The initiative sought to encourage people to pick up a book and rediscover reading as part of everyday life.
The train coach also hosted a collective silent reading session, with participants putting aside their phones and spending time with books. Poetry, music and conversations further added to the atmosphere, turning an ordinary commute into an immersive literary experience.
The campaign continued after the train reached Daspalla. The railway platform became the venue for “Poetry on the Platform”, where writers and participants presented their poems and literary expressions. On the return journey to Bhubaneswar, the literary conversations continued over “Mudhi Masala on the Train”, adding a distinctly local touch to the event.
The campaign was inaugurated by East Coast Railway General Manager Parmeshwar Funkwal, who also travelled with the participants and joined the literary activities.
The initiative sought to take reading beyond conventional spaces such as libraries, bookshops and auditoriums and bring it into an everyday public setting. The train coach, railway platform and journey itself became spaces for readers and writers to meet, interact and share their love for literature.
The organisers said the “Gift A Book” campaign carried a simple message—that reading can be part of everyday public life and need not remain confined to individual spaces. By putting books directly into the hands of passengers, the initiative aimed to turn a routine journey into an opportunity to pause, read and connect.
For the participants, the journey offered not only a chance to meet celebrated literary voices but also an opportunity to experience literature in an unconventional setting, where the movement of the train became part of the story itself.
