Small is big

Remember that feeling when you last stumbled upon a charming bookstore and felt chuffed as you discovered delightful titles and unheardof authors on its shelves inside this literary wonderland for hours together unperturbed by the goingson of the outside world Chances are most bibliophiles reading this column would have had at least one such instance if not moreIrsquove had several but a few finds remain closer to the heart The first was the Strand Book Stall It had been on my mustvisit list ever since my English college professor in junior college had mentioned the delights of this place during a lecture Intrigued a few of us set out a la Three Investigatorsstyle remember that mystery series With no Google Maps in those simpler times we lost ourselves in the gullies and bylanes in buzzing Fort but we didnrsquot mind stumbling upon one delight after anotherThe bookstore was packed with readers of all ages when we stepped into this little treasure trovemdashsome were seated others were standing balancing their stack of books while a few were poring over the nearly unseen cash counter Seated on a foldable chair in a corner we noticed a portly tiny senior gent Patrons seemed to know him well he patiently obliged their every request about a new title or exchanged notes about a bestselling author As wideeyed teenagers we couldnrsquot believe that such a place actually existed in the city With some pocket money on us we scrapped out a decent amount among us and bought two biographies that were on discount On that special day we didnrsquot realise it then a new border had been crossed as we entered that tiny bookstore It was a new chapter in our lives as young adults on the threshold of discoveries of every kind in the big city For me it was about understanding the value of the indie bookstore founded by Mr T Shanbhag I was bitten by the bug and that place became a haven a sanctuary or sorts as the years rolled by I also began to gauge the relevance of its existence and the ecosystem it fuelled from that tiny space in Dhannur building on Sir PM Road And I am sure I am not the only one here Loyal patrons still rue the day it shuttered for goodFor my next halt I must polevault to Hamilton in breezy New Zealand On an evening that was devoid of any major plans I decided to saunter along a happy charming part of the main avenue I even missed the signage to let me know that it was a bookstore but the mega window display tempted me thanks to its selection of atlases and cartography books I walked in unsure of what to expect from a bookstore in a large town in another country It was stacked with all kinds of deliciously rare unique books around travel literature The closest reference that came racing to my mind was The Travel Book Company in the Julia RobertsHugh Grant starrer Notting Hill ldquoCan I help you with somethingrdquo It wasnrsquot Hugh Grant but another tallish bespectacled older gent possibly in his midfifties who couldrsquove passed off as a college professor ldquoWe have some useful picks about travel writing that just arrived todayrdquo he gestured towards a shelf But my eye was hooked on their selection of antique map books ldquoReally You like this kind of reading Let me show you some morerdquo the bookseller vanished behind a door and returned shortly with a few more in his hands These huge titles were on discount and I picked up a few Mr Tall Gent was so pleased after learning about my reading habits and got even more enthused as we discussed Ruskin Bond and Pico Iyer I walked out with a cool discount but more importantly having made a memorable experience in a bookstoreBombay has its share of indie bookstores but too few and importantly not geographically balanced out at all Most are located in SoBo or the western suburbs The central and eastern suburbs that are home to burgeoning residential townships draw a near blank which is a dismal stat if we are looking to tap young and nascent readers Such personalised spaces are critical for nourishment of the mind where onetoone interaction not only encourages firsttime visitors to return but also nurtures a society from families to individuals to get hooked by the book if we were to look at the larger picture Rather than rue about the nostalgia of shuttered bookstores it would do wonders if the cityrsquos movers and shakers support such bookstores instead of taking the online route to buy books for startersHowever they must also look at playing a bigger substantial role by investing in indie reading spaces especially in the suburbs We could surely do with more Mr Shanbhags and Mr Tall Gents to keep the reading habit alive in the citymiddayrsquos Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the cityrsquos sights sounds smells and stoneswherever the ink and the inclination takes her She tweets bombayanaSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom