End of chapter

End of chapter
Time to bid good-bye to a fave haunt of Bangalore’s bookworms?
The Times of India

YOU’LL miss all of it: the teetering piles of books which threaten to avalanche on you, that heavenly smell of paper, the wending through the perilous walls of books. And TS Shanbhag, the owner of the bookstore himself, as he zooms in on the one book you ask for, amidst the heap. Yes, Premier Bookshop, that haven for booklovers, the much-loved institution of Bangalore, will move house.

The bookshop which has been there for the past 35 years will soon shift to another location. Says Shanbhag, “I have to move out by the end of April. The lease expired in April 2003. After a court order, I asked for an extension, and was given one till December 2005. Now that is over.” He’s looking for a suitable location, nothing’s clicked yet.

The 600 sq ft bookshop’s been there since 1971. Shanbhag was paying Rs 13,000 as rent till recently, but is willing to pay the current market rate for the same location. “I am open to negotiation,” he says.

Sources say now the owners want to give the building a facelift, restructure it, and strengthen it. Other tenants in the building have also moved out. Sources say the owners have nothing personal against Shanbhag but they would like to use it for their own business.

But will the bookshop be the same located elsewhere? What’s its attraction?

Says Ramachandra Guha, writer, “It’s a unique institution not only in the city but in India. For two reasons: for its range of books and for the knowledge of the owner himself. It’s not like the usual bookshop, focussing on computer and text books alone. And Shanbhag knows his books and his individual customer. He’s not the usual businessman, he’s not in it for money, it’s a profession he enjoys. The shop itself is utterly charming. It’s such a part of the cultural life of Bangalore. I’d like it to continue being there. I desperately hope he doesn’t close down.”

Anita Nair, writer, says, “Both Shanbhag and the bookstore are institutions.I know of serious booklovers who might pass through Bangalore fleetingly, but will visit that place. He has absolute stacks of books there, but knows exactly which stack he can find your book in. He doesn’t need a computer like other shops. In most shops, books are ranged in a sterile fashion. But here, there’s no finely defined categorisation. The place is like a treasure house, you don’t know what you can chance upon. I may not even plan to buy a book but when I’m there, I suddenly see titles I seldom see. And to think the bookshop won’t be there. It’ll be like saying Bangalore won’t have Cubbon Park any more. I feel very disturbed.