In the beginning was the word...

In the beginning was the word...
Premier Book Store and its proprietor T S Shanbagh gave two generations of Bangaloreans an insatiable appetite to read
MANASI PARESH KUMAR


It was unlike any bookstore in this city, probably anywhere else, and unlike any that will ever be. That past tense is especially sad since Premier Book Store, which transcended the very notion of a book mart, is about to shut shop. It was more a library, a browser’s paradise, in fact a place where the very smell and feel of stacks of books, piled up from floor to ceiling in such delightful disarray, seeped by a strange osmosis into the hearts of the people in their midst.
It is a fitting tribute to T S Shanbagh, that Bangalore is at a loss for words about the man who taught them how to love words. As proprietor of Premier, Shanbagh was far from being your average book seller. He wasn’t just selling books, he was actually helping you become whoever you were going to be. Therefore it was no surprise that a sense of disbelief settled on Bangalore when word spread that Premier was going to shut shop on February 14 after 38 years of shaping our souls. The more optimistic of us thought it was just a re-run of 2006 when we almost lost the shop to burg e o n i n g commerce only to have it continue. Some of his friends (most of his clients are friends) came with the hope that they would be able to change his mind. However when they walked in to see empty spaces in the book shelves that used to be so cramped with bound volumes, they realised this was indeed goodbye. “It was a tough decision to make, but everything comes to an end sometime. I could have continued for another few months, but then came to the conclusion that it better sooner than later. I came to this place when there was no night life and there were practically no people on the streets after the sun set. I barely broke even during the first year. I had one helper who i paid Rs 150 , the rent was Rs 900 with other expenses and I hardly sold two books a day,” Shanbhag says.
PAY WHEN YOU CAN
A defining trait of Premier was its fabulous discounts. Shanbhag would not only let you take books on credit ( the amount did not matter), he would let you pay for them in instalments and also give you a hefty 20 percent discount on the total. “Back then people did not make as much money as they do now. So if a person could only pay a fraction of the amount, it was okay. They’d always come back and give me the rest. People by and large are honest,” he says.
That also explains why the shop has no CCTV cameras, no metal detectors, no watchman at the entrance to check your bill. You can walk in with large bags and not have a shop employee breathing down your neck to make sure you did not pocket something. But did the idea ever cross his mind? After a hearty laugh at the suggestion he asks, “Really where would I put the metal detector. I was always cramped for space. Also technology is not something I am comfortable with. That is why I have no computer here. Technology is very specific and I’d rather have the flexibility of memory. Even the credit card machine was installed about three years ago. But the book lovers have always been there. In fact the numbers have only gone up in Bangalore for good literature and it is something we can always be proud of.”
EACH BOOK, BY HEART
So who was his first patron? “I don’t remember his name, he was the director of Max Mueller Bhavan when it was housed down the street. He was my first customer who bought a book or art history. But one person who really stands out among all those who came through this door was this young lady (I don’t want to name her) who worked for Infosys. From the first time she set foot, the familiarity with which she demanded a cup of coffee was so endearing” he recalls.
He used to have an almost unvarying routine all these years. “I come in at about 9.30 in morning and get the place ready for the customers. The books are arranged by me, so I know exactly where each one is. After lunch (that he gets from home even today) I’d walk across the street for a cup of coffee so I’d get some exercise after being cooped up in this chair most of the time. But it is getting more tedious by the minute with the ever increasing traffic. It was those times when I could park my vehicle across the road and worry about it at all. I really miss that as I walk from the cricket stadium where I park now,” he remembers in fond memory.
After a long innings Shanbhag is now ready to contemplate retirement. “I need a retinal operation which I have been pushing for the longest time. I could not shut shop for seven days to recoup, so that is first on my list. After that I am going to Australia to visit my daughter and then I have no clue. But it certainly seems exciting doing nothing after the routine” he says. But despite oneself, one hopes that he will return. “If there is a place for me after the building is renovated, then maybe I’ll come back,” he says. That is some consolation. I LOVE BANGALORE BECAUSE ...