The year was 1947. During this time for new beginnings in every sense, Jamnadas Jerajani set up the Happy Book Stall in Bandra. This was years after he had dabbled with being a vendor for books and magazines. More than 75 years later, a small set of Jerajani’s descendants have still continued the family business, keeping alive their passion for bookselling. Son Rajan Jerajani and grandson Krutarth now run the only surviving shop from the Jerajani book empire – which had once grown to include stores in Colaba, Pune, and Bengaluru – and intend on continuing to do so for as long as possible. “The store began because my family were vendors who were involved in getting books and magazines from the dock and that eventually led them to become booksellers,” explains the senior Jerajani. 

The 73-year-old is a great conversationalist, even though he says otherwise. He is a treasure trove of knowledge about the city’s past – with anecdotes stretching from Fort all the way to Virar. At its peak, the family had two bookstalls in Colaba opposite Leopold Café, one in Pune and another in Bengaluru on MG Road. However, all of these have closed shop over the last few decades because younger inheritors wanted to move on from the business. The outlet on Hill Road is the last one standing and has a bright blue board that is hard to miss on any given day. While the original shop was closer to the footpath, they moved to the current location in 1982.