Exploring Litmosphere with Rubaiya Chowdhury

Rubaiya Chowdhury says that Litmosphere was conceived from a very dark place – she got the idea of creating a Facebook group for the benefit of book-readers when she was suffering through the worst bout of clinical depression of her life – which is why it holds a special place in her heart. At that point in time in Rubaiya’s life, she struggled to open up to people about her problems. She found herself losing interest in a lot of activities that she previously used to engage in – one of them being reading books. “My reading slump lasted around 2 years – the longest that I have ever gone without reading a book,” said Rubaiya.

It was during this difficult period that Rubaiya turned to her younger sister, Ramisa, for some guidance. Ramisa inspired Rubaiya to pick up a book again, and reminded her of all the things that she loved, but had forgotten how to appreciate – like the smell of newly bought books, and the relish of turning pages.

To Rubaiya, it felt like they had come full circle, as she was the one who inspired her little sister to start reading in the first place. That is when it dawned on Ruabiya that there must be others just like herself who were once avid readers but had lost their connection with books somewhere down the road and were desperately trying to get back to reading. Thus, with her sister’s help, Rubaiya launched Litmosphere – a book discussion group that now has over 6500 members on Facebook.

Upon being asked what her favorite book was, Rubaiya answered that she had many – but if she had to choose one, she would pick A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Rubiaya strongly believes that the books we read as children tend to leave a lasting impression on us. Burnett’s little Sara had a huge impact on Rubaiya as she was growing up. The book taught her to hold her head high no matter what life threw at her.

A quote from The Little Princess that Rubaiya lives by is:

“Whatever comes,” she said, “cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.”

Rubaiya thinks The Little Princess sends a very important message – be kind, generous, and compassionate because your grace and elegance shows through your attitude, not your attire.

“We like to believe that Litmosphere is a family and we treat all our members that way. Our top priority has always been quality over quantity, which is why we are still at only about 7000 members in three years despite the hundreds of requests we receive every day. I am grateful to my incredible team which works day and night purely out of passion to take Litmosphere to new heights every day. Other than that, families have the occasional spats once in a while, but that is nothing that we cannot solve together,” commented Rubaiya.

Litmosphere, is a platform that brings bookworms together and unites them in their love for books. It has accomplished a lot in a very short time. In a culture where reading educational text-books is encouraged over the practice of reading novels as a hobby, Litmosphere succeeded in bringing out the closeted readers by providing them with a safe space to share their thoughts and opinions on books without fear of being judged. In 5 years, she envisions Litmosphere to become a multi-faceted organization that, in addition to promoting reading, provides creative workshops and organizes events that endorse social empathy and self-empowerment. Litmosphere also has its own line of merchandise that Rubaiya is soon hoping to expand. Furthermore, Rubaiya and her team have several educational and reading programs planned that they can’t wait to introduce.

“Most importantly, we as an organization, want to give back to society. Litmosphere is working hard every day to create the literary revolution that our country is in dire need of,” remarked Rubaiya.