The hope is that reading rooms will mushroom all over Penang. The first model is up and running in little Che Em Lane, thanks to Cecil Rajendra.
Walking up a narrow wooden staircase, each step I took creaked with the sound of years of wear. At the landing, I was greeted by the smell of incense and the sight of dried mango leaves hanging above the doorway. A sign indicated that I was at the right place – the Reading Room. That Saturday – June 22 –was also when the founder, Cecil Rajendra, would be launching his latest book there, at noon.
Poet, writer and human rights lawyer, Rajendra is the go-to man when it comes to culture. But he didn’t want to feature his poetry or his profession that day.
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