Book vending machines at two railway stations in city pique curiosity

Two newly-installed vending machines — one on platform 6 of the Central railway station, and the other at the west entrance of Tambaram railway station — are not dispensing coffee, chips or cold drinks, but something more for your train journey. They catch the eye of a reader rushing past, for these dispense stories: fiction, non-fiction, and children’s activity books.

Book vending machines are no novelty — they are seen in Exeter, Tokyo, Changi, and other corners of the world, A few exist in India too, but Tamil Nadu witnesses its first, curated by 26-year-old literature graduate Mayawathi G.V.

Holding 23 different titles and 200 books at a time, this perpetually open kiosk carries bestsellers of Khaled Hosseini, Evelyn Hugo, and English to Tamil translated books at a retail price and accepts UPI payment.

“Bringing a book vending machine to Chennai has always been my dream, and here, trains and books go hand-in-hand. Southern Railways have been supportive throughout,” Ms. Mayawathi said.

“We realise that reading habits are dipping in cities, and we need to do something about it. So far, children’s activity books have been selling well,” she added. As books are also being bought past midnight, she plans to rotate titles and introduce genres to the tome trove.

“You know that thrill when you finish a book and want to suggest it to others? That’s the feeling I had while curating the vending machine. But since readers can’t linger over blurbs or browse through pages like they would in a bookstore, I loaded the machine with international bestsellers under ₹300,” she said.

Corporate employees and bestfriends Jashwanth and Teja were at the Chennai Central when the book dispenser made the inquisitive travellers pause. “Honestly, we hadn’t thought of carrying a book on a train journey, but this initiative is gently nudging us to.