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Bahrisons Booksellers, the now-iconic bookstore that archetypal opened successful New Delhi’s Khan Market successful 1953, has marked its introduction into the southbound with its archetypal store successful Hyderabad. Aashna Malhotra, a 3rd procreation subordinate of the founding family, takes successful the show of astir 5 lakh books astatine the store successful Jubilee Hills that opened connected January 14, and says, “More books volition beryllium arriving soon.”
An extended curation of fashionable titles crossed categories — transgression thrillers, literate fiction, non-fiction and poesy greets visitors. Aashna explains that these titles person been curated with an knowing of customers’ preferences successful their stores successful different cities. The curation is apt to alteration arsenic the founders and the unit gauge the speechmaking preferences of Hyderabad.
The past of this bookstore has its roots successful India’s Partition successful 1947. Balraj Bahri Malhotra, a 19-year-old, fled Malakwal with his household and recovered refuge successful a campy successful New Delhi. A fewer years later, successful 1953, helium founded Bahrisons Booksellers. Chronicle of a Bookstore, written by his lad Anuj Bahri and granddaughter Aanchal Malhotra, offers funny readers a little past of the store and however the household built the bequest 1 publication astatine a time.
A glimpse of the Hyderabad store of Bahrisons Booksellers | Photo Credit: Sangeetha Devi
Aashna, Anuj Bahri’s girl and Aanchal’s sister, recalls, “My gramps was astatine the bookstore until his last days. Since the archetypal years, helium followed the signifier of noting down titles requested by customers successful a book. During the luncheon break, helium would task retired to bargain these books for customers. In each our stores, we support a publication to support way of lawsuit requests. A keen engagement with customers helps america clasp the ethos of a family-run autarkic bookstore adjacent arsenic the concern grows.”
Bahrisons has stores successful New Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Dehradun, and Indore and is eyeing enlargement successful the adjacent future. Shelfeebooks, their spouse marque of bookstores, caters to schoolhouse and college-going readers.
Over the years, autarkic bookstores specified arsenic AA Husain & Co, Gangarams and much precocious Walden closed down successful Hyderabad. Post pandemic, caller bookstores specified arsenic Luna Books and Off The Shelf pull readers alongside seasoned players specified arsenic Akshara Books and M.R. Book Centre, among others.
Aashna is pleased with the lukewarm reception to the store by anxious customers who person been visiting the store. At Bahrisons, she says the intent is to neither stay excessively aged schoolhouse nor beryllium an experiential luxury bookstore: “The plan of our store is non-flashy. My father, with the assistance of an architect, planned the layouts for each our stores specified that the books are successful focus.” Arched woody shelves are designed specified that contempt the ample postulation of books, the store does not look cluttered.
A country stocks classics for those who question collector’s editions, different is dedicated to java array books, and a ample country stocks books connected spirituality, philosophy, business, economics and a scope of titles for children and young adults. The store has a constricted enactment of Hindi and Telugu titles to statesman with, and hopes to grow this conception soon.
Of late, contempt the accrued speech astir diminishing attraction spans and addiction to integer screens, literate festivals and the yearly Hyderabad publication just person consistently drawn enviable footfalls. For a bookstore, Aashna says it’s pivotal to support the curation dynamic to connection thing caller for predominant visitors. “Around 10 to 15 years ago, we wondered if speechmaking habits were going to spell wholly digital. However, we noticed however antithetic formats co-exist. When radical similar thing they person work connected an e-reader oregon listened to arsenic an audio book, they privation to ain a carnal copy.”
She adds that the curation changes according to the lawsuit illustration successful each of their stores. Their oldest store successful Khan Market leans towards history, authorities and planetary relations fixed its proximity to respective overseas embassies. The Gurgaon store stocks Indian and planetary fabrication and classics, aligning with readers’ preferences. “This is imaginable due to the fact that members of our unit interact with customers and not specified managers,” says Aashna. She mentions however her parents are astatine the Khan Market store connected a regular ground and gladsome to interact with customers.
This hands-on attack and worth additions successful the signifier of hosting conversations with authors astatine the stores and stocking copies signed by the authors, she says, gives bookstores an borderline implicit online sellers. Bahrisons Hyderabad shares its abstraction with Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters cafe astatine the Bungalow, making it feasible to big writer meets successful the adjacent future.
Bahrisons besides hosts podcasts with authors successful video and audio format, disposable connected YouTube and connected fashionable audio podcast platforms.
(Bahrisons Booksellers is astatine the Bungalow, Plot no. 521, Road no.27, Aditya Enclave, Venkatagiri, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad)
