This bookworms’ retreat set to be a closed chapter

This bookworms’ retreat set to be a closed chapter

TIMES NEWS NETWORK


Bangalore: Patrons of Premier Book Shop off Church Street are coming by for one last time to savour the joy of buying books at a place that celebrates the printed word.
And there’s a bargain for good measure with discounts as high as 80%. The impending closure of this landmark, perhaps within a few days, has left book-lovers broken-hearted.
The lease expired in 2006 and the store was supposed to have closed then. But it got a fresh lease of life — till now. Proprietor T S Shanbagh, with an enduring smile on his face, said: “I don’t want to close the store but circumstances are so. I would be the last person to do that.”
“The owner of the building wants us to move out because the building needs re-strengthening. I’m unsure whether they’ll return the place to us. Then they will charge for the place at market price, which I’ll be unable to match,” Shanbagh told to STOI.
On whether he’ll reopen the shop, he said he will go to Australia to meet his daughter and return after three months. “Only then I can decide whether to reopen it or not,” he added.
OLD-TIMERS UPSET
The 37-year-old bookstore is close to many hearts in Bangalore, and its customers are upset over the closure. Manmohan Reddy, a regular here for more than 30 years, told STOI: “Bangalore needs places like this or else there’ll be a void. In many stores, the owners are unaware of the things they have. But Shanbagh shows you the exact shelf of any book you name.”
Store in-charge R Jagadish said customers are requesting to reopen or shift to another place. “It’s because of the sentimentality involved among the store, its owner and customers.”
The store keeps 80,000 titles, and piles of books tower over the customer as he/she browses them. “Whatever books are left after the closure of this historical place, Shanbhag will put them for scrap,” Jagadish said.