Beyond Home & Campus: The Rise Of Paid Study Spaces In Srinagar

Srinagar- At 11 pm on a chilly winter evening in Rajbagh, Srinagar, the streets are mostly deserted, with only the occasional passerby or distant vehicle breaking the silence.

Inside a privately run reading room tucked above a row of shops, rows of students sit bent over laptops and notebooks. Some are medical aspirants attending online lectures through headphones, others are revising civil services notes under stark white tube lights. Across Srinagar, paid study spaces often called reading rooms or study centres have emerged as a parallel academic infrastructure.

More than a dozen private reading rooms have come up across Srinagar, according to operators who run multiple centres in the city, concentrated in neighbourhoods like Rajbagh, Hyderpora, Parraypora and Bemina, areas already known for coaching institutes and student hostels.

Not all operate round the clock. While several offer 24×7 access, others close late at night or function seasonally, depending on demand and infrastructure costs such as heating and electricity. What unites them is a steady stream of students willing to pay for something increasingly scarce: uninterrupted time and silence.

Who is filling these spaces?

The users cut across categories. College students, competitive exam aspirants, hostel residents and outstation students all share these halls. Many say neither home nor campus libraries offer workable study conditions.

“At home, there are chores, visitors, and a comfort that makes you lazy,” he said.“Here, when you see everyone studying, you automatically feel you should study too,” Khalid, a student from Hyderpora who has been using one such space for over a year, told Kashmir Observer.

Asif, a student from Handwara living in a hostel, echoed this.“The hostel environment is messy. You cannot study all day there,” he said.“Here, the surroundings are made for studying. That is the difference.”

A female postgraduate student from Srinagar who uses a reading room in Bemina said studying in a shared space helped her regulate her routine.“When you are at home, your day keeps stretching and nothing feels fixed,” she said.“Here, I know when I sit down, I have to study. Even on days when motivation is low, the environment pushes you to keep going.”

Ironically, the rise of these physical spaces has coincided with an explosion of online learning. According to operators, most students using reading rooms now attend online coaching classes.

Operators trace the increased demand to post-pandemic study habits.

Junaid, who runs a 24×7 study centre with around 160 seats in Magarmal Bagh, said the turning point came after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After the pandemic, coaching shifted online,” he said.“Students prefer online classes, but they cannot study at home because of distractions. That is why they come here to attend online lectures in a disciplined environment.”

This contradiction – digital access paired with physical dependence – is not accidental, according to Dr Aadil Showket Bakhshi, Assistant Professor at Kashmir University's Media Education Research Centre.

“Online education has expanded reach and convenience,” Bakhshi said.“But paid study spaces provide what digital platforms cannot: time, discipline, focus, and the ability to plan preparation. These spaces are filling gaps that homes and institutions have not addressed.”

He pointed out that similar ecosystems have existed elsewhere.“Places like Rajinder Nagar in Delhi or Kota in Rajasthan show how physical study environments become growth points for aspirants,” he said.“Kashmir is now seeing a local version of that pattern.”

“When we started, students did not even understand what a reading room was,” said Shafat Ahmad Bhat, who runs seven such study spaces under the name Insight Library across Srinagar, Ganderbal and Handwara.“Now they actively seek zero-disturbance environments. Awareness has grown because students have seen results.”

Nawaz, owner of reading rooms in Rajbagh, said shared living arrangements also play a role.“In hostels or rented rooms, three students may share one space with different schedules,” he said.“A library gives them personal space without disturbance.”

Students describe the shift as practical rather than aspirational. With limited campus library hours, unreliable power supply at home, crowded households and growing digital fatigue, paid study spaces have become a workaround rather than a luxury.

How much does silence cost?

Affordability remains a key concern. Monthly fees in Srinagar's study spaces typically range from around Rs 800 to Rs 2,500, depending on location, seating type, heating, power backup and 24×7 access.

Junaid said charges vary by season.“In winters, heating costs go up, so fees change,” he said. Nawaz added that concessions are often offered.“If a student is from a weaker financial background, we provide relief,” he said.

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