Even on national holidays, Connaught Place does not run out of crowds. On a regular afternoon, as people trickle in and out of the inner and outer circles, the commercial buzz adds to the clamour. It is, therefore, easy to miss the silence that pervades shop number 17 in B Block. Once a warmly lit bookstore with stacks of fiction and academic titles, ED Galgotia & Sons now stands dark, its stainless steel racks sticking out like skeletal remains. After 80 years, the bookshop has pulled down its shutters. “It is no surprise,” says RK Galgotia, 58, the shop’s third-generation owner. “Loyal customers have reduced over the years and the business of books belongs to the online market. Ours was one of the oldest shops in Delhi,” he adds. Independent bookstores are heaving under the weight of the online book market, which has changed reading habits and solved the problem of towering rentals. Delhiites have bid goodbye to some beloved names, such as Basant Lok’s Fact & Fiction Booksellers, The Bookworm in Connaught Place (CP) and Yodakin in Hauz Khas Village. Galgotia's is the latest in the list, with Spell & Bound in SDA Market and Timeless Art Book Studio in South Extension. “CP alone used to have around 23 bookstores,” says 56-year-old Sanjeev Arora of Famous Book Store (FBS) in Janpath, “Now there must be 10 left.” For those who remain, the book business is a product of more than passion and personalised curation. Mirza Afsal Beg, 52, who is found at the counter of his Midland Bookstore in Aurobindo Market, takes queries that are not confined to just books. “Bookshops are closing down every other day. Aren’t you worried?” asks a customer. Beg, whose family has been in the business since 1973, says, “The problem with bookshops of our level is that, after a certain generation, there is no one to look after them. Bookworm opened and shut in front of my eyes. Their daughter went abroad and there was no one left,” says Beg, who has three brothers who run the Midland’s branches in Janpath, South Extension and Gurgaon. FBS comes with a similar familial commitment. Opened by his father in 1949, the shop is manned by Arora. “I run it with a staff of six who have been around for more than 25 years. It’s a work that requires long-term personal involvement,” says Arora. In times of bigger chain bookstores such as Crossword and Oxford Bookshop resorting to opening online portals, certain bookstores have gone ahead by tying up with mega online stores. The thriving family book business of Midland, for instance, cashes in through tie-ups with Amazon and Flipkart. Beg insists that his effort goes beyond running in tandem with online business. “Even before he became an online sensation, Amish Tripathi was displayed by us. I know how to make a bestseller. My personal involvement makes me travel for books across the country and abroad,” he says. A recent trend has helped bookshops make better sales — that of “special price books”. “We negotiate with the publisher to reduce the MRP and they send books in special prices in bulk. We can’t return the books but this system has two advantages — it benefits the customer in terms of the price and it kills piracy,” says Arora. In Khan Market, Anoop Kumar of Faqir Chand & Sons says, “Publishers also sell the books on a return basis if they haven’t been sold in two months. This makes it easier for us to do away with a stock that isn’t working in the market.” Kumar further presses the advantage of owning a business in a prime location. With Bahrisons as the only other shop in Khan Market, the 53-year-old even hints at a revival. “People visit us more now because of nostalgia over closing book stores,” he says. Is there no need for panic? “This is a temporary dent. Some owners are pushing the panic button too soon,” says Arora. pallavi.pundir@expressindia.com
