31 March,2026 09:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
The AH Wheeler & Co stall at Mumbai Central station, which retains its original design. The shop was fabricated in England and shipped to India. PIC/Rajendra B Aklekar
Indian Railways will shed its connection to Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling, as one of its most iconic features - the Wheeler book stalls - are set to disappear from stations across Mumbai's Western Railway (WR) network, marking the end of a century-old legacy.
WR, however, has decided to preserve a Wheeler stall at Mumbai Central Terminus station, which retains its original design. "Almost all the Wheeler stalls in Mumbai are just cubicles. The only one where the original design is maintained, at Mumbai Central, will not be touched. We will repurpose the structure," an official said.
A Wheeler stall that has been converted into a multi-purpose store at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
The stalls, where one can buy newspapers and affordable books, have been a part of the suburban railway network culture, helping cultivate a reading habit in commuters. For generations of commuters, Wheeler stalls were more than just retail counters - they were hotspots to affordable literature, from newspapers and magazines to bestselling novels, often serving as a companion to long suburban and intercity journeys.
Rudyard Kipling, English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer, whose early works were published as part of AH Wheeler & Co's Indian Railway Library Series. Pic/Wikimedia Commons
Their distinctive presence on platforms became synonymous with railway travel itself. In 2021, however, they were converted into multi-purpose stalls (MSP) under a revised commercial model. A communication issued by WR's Mumbai division has confirmed that the five-year contract for 55 MPS will conclude on March 31, 2026.
The cover of a collection of short stories by the Nobel laureate, whose first edition was published by AH Wheeler & Co in 1888 and sold for Rs 1
Time-pass during train travel
Deepak Rao, Historian and city chronicler
Their stalls were treasure troves of knowledge. I particularly treasure their rubber stamp that was etched on their copies; one of my books dates back to 1956! As schoolboys, my friends and I were regulars at the VT (today's CSMT) stall, which had a fantastic collection. I remember heading there to buy comic books, and later, when the magazine boom hit India in the 1970s, they would stock not just the best Indian magazines, but also international publications like Time and Newsweek. Long-distance train travel to places like Pune was incomplete if we didn't pick up at least one bestseller to kill time on the journey. Their closure is sad news. Today's readers will never understand its value and presence as a Mumbai icon that stood the test of time.
Pulse of a generation
Kaiwan Mehta, Author, academic, and architecture theorist
My undergraduate thesis was on railway stations. My argument was that in the case of Mumbai, they act as thresholds for travel. While we wait at stations, we drink chai, and quite organically, our eyes would scan the station, and these book stalls would catch the eye. I remember being fascinated by the Hindi comic book superhero series âDoga' by Raj Comics. They stocked every newspaper; even those that weren't published in Mumbai like âThe Hindu' would be available later in the day. These bookstalls gave you a sense of what the general public is reading beyond physical and online bookstores. It also offered insight into translated bestsellers. Apart from value for money paperbacks, titles like âThe Discovery of India', Dr BR Ambedkar's writings, as well as Mahatma Gandhi's âThe Story of My Experiments With Truth' were almost always on sale. They offered a pulse of the generation in the same manner as All India Radio did.
Synonym for bookstores
Arundhathi Subramaniam, Poet and author
It was a big part of our life in the city. I would call it a synonym for bookstores at railway stations. It was almost a common noun. I remember picking up magazines, newspapers, and books during our train rides to my grandmother's home on vacations, or the commute to friends' houses in the suburbs. I would call it my âWheeler Dealer' for books as a running joke. The stalls were a landmark at the crowded railway station. Before mobile phones, we'd simply say âI'll meet you by the Wheeler's' bookstall to a friend, and they would know. I suppose it is the end of an era. Soon, it will be one of those things that you mention, and get a blank stare in return. I just arrived in Mumbai, and told my cabbie to take a turn past Dev Anand's bungalow. He looked back to ask âWho is Dev Anand?' That's the way it is.
Summer holiday memories
Ehsaan Noorani, Composer-musician
It was a huge part of our summer holiday memories. As a child, summers to me meant travelling to Lonavla on the Deccan Queen. I would always insist on getting to the station early, so I could buy a âDennis the Menace' or âArchies Digest' to read all the way. It was all part of the excitement of a train journey. It is a terribly sad thing to hear that they will no longer be a part of the next generation's experience.
A memory of my formative years
Atul Dodiya, Artist
The Wheeler's bookstore was a huge part of my formative years of art. It housed a diverse range of books. I remember picking up books in regional languages, comics, and classic novels. But most of all, they would also sell published film scripts. Those are rare now. I recall picking up scripts like Awtar Singh Kaul's â27 Down' and Basu Chatterji's âRajnigandha' among many others during my commute from Ghatkopar, while I was studying at Sir JJ School of Art. It was there that my love for Hindi cinema took roots.
>> The first store was opened at Allahabad Railway Station in 1877
>> The chain was originally founded by Emile Moreau (a French businessman), TK Banerjee (an Indian businessman), Arthur Henry Wheeler (after whom the store got named), Arthur Lisle Wheeler, WM Rudge, and Armenian Tigran Ratheus David in Allahabad or present day Prayagraj, in 1877. The name AH Wheeler had been borrowed from the very famous and then-successful London bookstore - âArthur Henry Wheelers', who had been a friend of one of the founders (Moreau) and had also helped him financially
>> It is headquartered in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), with bookstores spreading across hundreds of railway stations, especially in the north and east
>> It was once the premier bookstore chain on Indian Railways, boasting 258 locations by 2004
>> The business was taken over by the Banerjee family in 1950, which continues to run it
>> Following a 2004 railway policy change, many of the iconic bookstores have been converted into "multi-purpose stalls" that sell snacks and medicines in addition to reading material
As a student of mathematics and economics at KC College, Churchgate (1991-94), I would buy two newspapers every day from the Wheeler stall at Churchgate - mid-day and The Afternoon Despatch & Courier (ADC). So regular was I that the vendor knew me by my face and later by name. Sometime in mid-1993, I went as usual, and he told me, "Aapka naam aya hai Afternoon paper mein". Flummoxed, I opened the ADC and there it was, on one of the City pages under the headline. "Winners of National Essay Competition Announced". It turned out that the essay I had submitted to the Forum of Free Enterprise, the well-known organisation, established in 1956, to educate public opinion in India on free enterprise and its close relationship with the democratic way of life, was declared the second-best in a national competition for college and postgraduate university students. I was 19 at the time. In 1993, FFE, established by AD Shroff, a banking and economics luminary, was headed by Nani Palkhivala and MR Pai when I won the prize. I went to the DN Road office to collect my certificate signed by Messrs Palkhivala and Pai. Imagine my surprise when Mr Pai himself handed over the certificate. I touched his feet and left the office. If the clerk at Wheeler had not told me about it, I would have probably never known I had won the prize. It is a memory I will cherish until my last day.
Sachin Kalbag, editor-in-chief
AH Wheeler & Co for me was more than a stockist of books and magazines. During my years in the book trade, I visited their office on Dr DN Road to get them to buy books in large quantity, but to no avail. The wooden-framed bookshelves attracted my attention at each station I got off. I remember one particular âdisembarkation' - at Bandra West - to check whether this newspaper carried my piece, filed as a freelancer in the wake of a reported rift between two buddies, Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, in early 1994. The piece was about Mumbai team manager and former Test all-rounder Karsan Ghavri refuting talk of a rift. To my great surprise, the story was carried on page 1.
Clayton Murzello, deputy editor
As college-goers, we would board and alight from Matunga (Central) railway station, and the AH Wheeler book stall was a godsend for several reasons. For many third-year students, the stall stocked a wide range of knowledge books for every conceivable entrance exam across faculties and interests. The one-time miracle book to every current affairs question - Malayala Manorama Yearbook - was another huge draw, and I recall some of us got sweet discounts on slightly creased copies. It was a regular feature of our college life, and the easiest spot on the station to use as a landmark to meet friends arriving from other locations. Mumbai loses another footnote of high heritage value with its shutting down. This generation and the next will never gauge how this omnipresent bookseller made us value and appreciate the written word while on the move.
Fiona Fernandez, features editor
Since my school days, I have had a special bond with the small AH Wheeler book shop at one end of Matunga railway station. The stacks of newspapers and their screaming headlines, the colourful covers of magazines hanging by clips and the much-awaited arrival of my favourite comics and periodicals were always a big deal for me. That was the social media of our era and I was hooked to it. I couldn't help but stop, even if it meant risking a missed train or a scolding for being late.
Rajendra B Aklekar, deputy city editor
With the contract period now ending, railway authorities have instructed licensees to hand over vacant possession of stalls along with all fixtures in good condition, failing which the Railways reserves the right to take over and dispose of materials. Vendors have been directed to cease operations immediately upon expiry and vacate the premises within 72 hours. Railways will take possession of the stalls, remove the furniture or other articles lying there and dispose of the same by sale or otherwise.
The AH Wheeler & Co stall at Mumbai Central which retains its original design. The shop was fabricated in England and shipped to India. Pics/Rajendra B Aklekar
Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay on December 30, 1865, to John Lockwood Kipling, an artist and teacher of architectural sculpture at the Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy School of Art. At the age of five, he was sent back to England to stay with a foster family in Southsea. He did not return to India for another eleven years, when at the age of sixteen he started work as an assistant editor at the Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore. In the late 1880s, he struck a deal with AH Wheeler & Co, which had secured a near-monopoly over bookstalls at stations across the rapidly expanding Indian Railways network, to start the affordably priced Indian Railway Library Series.
Confirming the development, a Western Railway divisional official said, "The contract of 55 multi-purpose stall units awarded to M/s. AH Wheeler & Co Pvt. Ltd used to generate revenue of R0.76 crore annually. Further e-auctions of these units were conducted on March 26 and 27, and bids were received in 46 units, which will generate a revenue of R5.3 crore annually."
Wheeler's compact kiosks, crafted from teak wood, were built to fit narrow platform spaces without obstructing movement. They had a distinct red-and-cream colour scheme, making them easy to spot even in crowded stations and open-front counters, allowing quick browsing and fast transactions for passengers on the go, as well as multi-tier display racks.
With inputs from Fiona Fernandez and Shriram Iyengar
