Before Vishal Pipraiya and Neha got married,and long before they had met,their lives were pretty much running in parallel. Both had quit their jobs and had taken to backpacking across the country. Both met all kinds of people and made friends. When they finally met each other and fell in love,they considered building a life around a shared love books. Both of us love books and thought of opening a bookstore. But we werent sure if we would be able to sustain it. Besides,we are the kind of people who spend six hours at a time curled up with our books and often get hungry in-between, says Neha. So they came up with the idea of Pagdandi,a library-cafe-social space that they opened in Baner recently. As soon as you walk past the glass and yellow-painted wooden door,you encounter rows and rows of books,lining two of the walls,from floor to ceiling. A third wall is stacked with shelves of magazines about photography,décor,current affairs and such. A few people sit on cane chairs and stools,sipping ginger tea from kulhads,others lounge on the floor,their faces hidden behind books and magazines. While visitors can choose to read at the cafe as long as they want,they can also take the books home to read once theyve registered for the library membership. Neha and Vishal man the kitchen counter along with one assistant,serving up tea,coffee,sandwiches,frozen yoghurt and other treats,and also encourage visitors to go in and whip up a dish to their liking,as long as it doesnt need oil or flame. We missed all the social interactions that we used to have on our trips and wanted to make this a place where people could come to meet other people and discuss their passions and enjoy them,whether its a book reading,or a cooking or jamming session, Neha says. Its just been a month since they opened Pagdandi,and already,weekends are a jampacked affair. The idea of combining a cafe with a store seems to be catching on elsewhere in the city too. Nivedita Saboo,the city-based couture designer,launched a new store just this month a grand old bungalow in the serene Kalyani Nagar. Here,her clients can visit and discuss their ideas with Saboo herself,trying on different outfits from her collections,or ordering an entirely new design. This time though,Saboo has added another experience for visitors a garden cafe at the back of the store,where visitors can sit back on the wrought iron chairs and enjoy a cup of coffee with a slice of cake or cookies. Clients can easily spend anywhere between an hour to even three or four hours at the store; its nice if they can unwind and enjoy a cup of coffee during the experience as well, says Saboo. Her stores have always been popular with clients for the lovely coffee they serve during discussions with the designer,but the cafe at the new store makes it a complete experience. The cafe serves fresh juices and coffees,besides cookies and pie. Its a lovely sit-out with a European atmosphere and makes for a pleasant opportunity to step out and enjoy the view under the shade of the trees. Its a lovely way for me to sit down with people and discuss what they need,in an informal setting. The whole idea is to give the shoppers an experience in which they can leave all the stress of the hustle and bustle of life behind,and really pamper themselves, Saboo says. Of course,perhaps the first place to really catch on to the benefits of a cafe attached to a store is Crossword bookstore at Sohrab Hall,which has housed a branch of Cafe Coffee Day inside since 2000. People like reading books while sipping on coffee or snacking. Some visitors buy books and magazines and go to the cafe to read them. Other take a pile of books and sit at the cafe while checking them out,so they can decide which ones to buy, says Harshvardhan Gadre,a customer care executive at Crossword. The cafe has been part of the store for so many years now. We often find people just picking up books and heading there. Its part of the whole experience, he says.
