You can judge a city by its bookshops. The lack of bookshops in East Delhi or suburban Mumbai speaks of an urban landscape where people are so engrossed in day-to-day survival that visiting a bookshop is a luxury they can’t afford. On the other hand, the multitude of excellent bookshops in central Bangalore speaks of a city where intellectual ferment and the debating of idea are at the heart of daily life. It is fitting therefore that Aakriti Mandhwani’s piece on independent bookshops begins in Bangalore:
“Bookworm is one of the few independent bookstores in the city and indeed, all of India. An independent bookstore is defined simply as a bookstore run independently and not by a big retail chain. There are other markers too. It is often incredibly well curated: it simply cannot have all the new releases cramming its shelves, and curation becomes a way to contain its multitudes.”
She goes on to highlight other iconic independent bookstores in India: “Upmarket Khan Market, a bastion of well-heeled shoppers (it remains one of India’s most expensive retail locations), is home to Bahrisons Booksellers, a bookstore born in 1952 from the hard work of refugees. The postcard-perfect Faqir Chand Bookstore is also nestled in the same market.”
We learn from Ms Mandhwani that non-metros like Goa, Bhubhaneswar and Benares too have independent bookstores.
Ms Mandhwani then goes on to explain that independent bookstores are now largely the preserve of the affluent elite rather than the aspiring intellectual: “ The threat of financial instability is never far from either chain or independent bookstores. In this context, cultivating the romance of the independent bookstore is not only useful but necessary: it is a mark by which bookstores find their users. Independent bookstores with thousands of social media followers speak to this market….The charm of physical books, an aesthetic setup – independent bookstores, with their carefully cultivated identities and tactile environments, are well-positioned to meet this demand.”
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