City Booklovers bid Manney's final adieu

Two days before the city’s iconic bookstore Manney’s shuts shop, booklovers from across the city yesterday bade it a final goodbye and paid hearty tributes to the establishment that had served them for more than 60 years.

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To mark their admiration for the store, booklovers recalled the good times they had spent at the store.u00a0

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Down memory lane

A wave of nostalgia and memories surfaced among those who had walked in and out of Manney’s in pursuit of good reading over the years.u00a0

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“When I came to Pune in the early 70’s, I did not find a single place which was interesting — until I walked into this shop. Since then, I have been frequenting this place every day. I thought when I die I would visit this place as a ghost and read all the books they have here,” joked M Koyaji, a member. u00a0u00a0

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One big family

Manik Mani, the 68-year-old proprietor of the bookstore, said he had seen generations of booklovers visit the store.u00a0

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“I have seen people growing up in this bookstore. I have seen them coming alone, and then with their grandchildren,” said Mani.

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Amid many hip, hip, hoorays for Manney’s and books, some recalled how the store was once their favourite haunt after school hours and how everyone had their own corners, where they would sit for hours on end with a book in their hands, absorbing themselves in the world of words.

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“We don’t have feelings of sadness, but we feel nostalgic. Certain things leave a taste in your memory; it’s just like the way a river flows. Manney’s has flowed like a river,” said Sujith Patwardhan, a regular.

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Another habitué, Eruch W, said Manney’s was known across the country.u00a0

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“Talk about books and people will suggest Manney’s,” said Eruch W. “There were books which were hard to find, but you could find these in Manney’s.”

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