Kolkata is a city that cherishes its past perhaps more than its present or future. Its a rare street that doesnt have a cultural landmark where great events once happened. In Park Street,close to the pub where Usha Nair (now Uthup) would sing English numbers in saris in the 60s,is the Oxford Bookstore. Literary luminaries,paperback hunters,quiz and debate enthusiasts,and Nobel Prize wannabes stock up on their reading and writing material here or pore through unaffordable coffee table tomes over tea from its Cha Bar. The 90-year-old Kolkata institution hasnt replicated this success in Delhi but,if the new outlet in N Block,Connaught Place,is any indication,the bookstore isnt giving up yet. The store,which opened a few days ago,is located opposite the Statesman House,the old address of the bookstore,and exudes a decidedly youthful spirit. Electrical signages spell out words such as Knowledge,Vidya,Mead and Memor in Hindi and English,and in a variety of colours. Staff members wear checkered trousers and badges saying To Read a Mockingbird,Jack and the Bookstalk and Lord of the Reads,among others. The 4,500 sq ft space is filled with 16,000 titles and arranged under Classics,Travel Guides,Travel Fiction,Cookery,Health,Autobiography and Biography. Nobel laureates are arranged on a cart as one enters the central section,clearly a stronger lure than scanning shelves for an Orhan Pamuk or VS Naipaul. The bookstores strength could just be its Translations section. Ascending shelves are packed with Rabindranath Tagores,Mahasweta Devis and Taslima Nasreens apart from lesser-known texts such as Gheranda Samhita,a translation from Sanskrit of a tantrik work about hathayoga. Lining the events gallery are shelves stocked with literature Punjabi,Hindi,Urdu,Sanskrit and Bengali. Theres abundant space and ample seating,a smart move since buying is almost always preceded by browsing. The coveted tables,of course,are at the long gallery-like Cha Bar Oxfords salute to 155 varieties of tea. There are the usual pastas,samosas and tarts but the highlight here is the tea. We tried the fragrant Moroccan Mint (Rs 150 without tax) and it was served in a Moroccan tea set. It was relaxing and the tea sets,of course,added to the exotic value. Theres Japanese crockery for green tea and terracotta for ayurvedic chai,among other matching tea sets from various countries. The staff are keen,though theyll need a few weeks before they can reach the stature of Mr Motwane from the Kolkata store,who has a mythical knowledge of every book and its position on the shelves. It took the smiling youngster several minutes before informing us that the store doesnt keep Terry Pratchett. Discworld fanatics will not like this,even if everything else is geared to making reading fun. Address: N 81,Connaught Place Contact: 33503293
