Tags:
Journalism of Courage
POOJA PILLAI
PICTURE this: A delivery boy with a cape,comic books in hand,leaping from window to window of the city,saving the citizens from boredom by bringing them the joy that only illustrated books with speech bubbles can bring. Of course,thats not exactly the story behind Leaping Windows,the citys only comic book library,but its an interesting thought,given their logo which does in fact feature a boy wearing a cape. Its not really supposed to be a delivery boy, laughs Bidisha Basu,one of the partners at Leaping Windows,It was inspired by a friends little brother who once tied a towel around his neck and leaped from their first-floor bathroom window in imitation of caped superheroes.
The story goes back to when Basu spent two years in Japan teaching English. Many of my friends there were heavily into Manga and I found it fascinating. So when Koel came to visit me once,we discussed the idea, she says. They then got in touch with Shome,and together,the three pooled in their resources. And Leaping Windows was started a little over two months ago.
The main expense,say the 30-somethings,was in setting up the website and ordering a lot more books than they already had. The collection that the three of us had amassed over the years was simply not enough, says Shome,We consulted a lot of people in order to figure out what the demand is,what kind of comics and graphic novels people would like to read.
Interested people can visit the librarys website and become a member. Once you pay the membership fees,you can order as many times as you want, points out Shome,So it really works out quite cheap. At the moment,Leaping Windows has two delivery boys who deliver anywhere within Mumbai city limits. The collection is quite eclectic ranging from Batman to Naruto,from Amar Chitra Katha to Archie and from Sin City to Moonward – and Leaping Windows seems like every Indian comic book junkies dream come true. The most popular books are the ones that have been made into movies,like Sin City,Watchmen and now Scott Pilgrim Vs the World, says Shome,who himself prefers the works of American comics creator,Jason Lutes.
Currently,Leaping Windows has over a thousand books,covering a wide range of genres. The only problem is that Chatterjee is based out of Delhi,while the other two are in Mumbai. But were managing well so far, says Basu,whos the only one whos managing the venture full-time right now (Chatterjee is a graphic designer while Shome is a law professional). That is also the reason why the trio has not looked at expanding beyond the city. And with membership really picking up in the past one month,theyve managed to cover their overheads so far,although the profits are still to roll in. But with increasing word of mouth publicity the venture is getting,Basu is sure that day isnt far either. We set up our Facebook page a month before we actually started operations,and it got such a fantastic response.
