Arunima Mazumdar, 39, is the founder of Dokusha Book Club, a New Delhi-based group dedicated to Japanese literature. The club reads Japanese books in English translation, opening up conversations around a literary niche that is enjoying a recent boom in India. Outside of the club, Mazumdar works as a communications professional.
1. What sparked your interest in Japanese literature?? I studied English literature at Delhi University, and that¡¯s when my love for reading really deepened. But we never read any Japanese works ¡ª the English honors program is still very colonial. I discovered Japanese literature around 2011 or 2012 when I picked up ¡°Sputnik Sweetheart¡± by Haruki Murakami, which became my gateway to Japanese literature.
2. What inspired you to start Dokusha Book Club?? Few of my friends were into Japanese literature; most found it boring or absurd. I didn¡¯t have anyone to discuss these books with. In December 2022, I had a month-long break between jobs, so I decided to start documenting my Japanese literature reading journey. I just put it out there on ¡ª and organically, the community grew. Before I knew it, we had 4,000 members.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.