THERE'S LOVE INSIDE

The team at The Bookshop Inc, is continuing a legacy of curation, community, and quiet defiance against the tide of digital convenience. TMS speaks to them about their journey, and the joys and pains of running a bookstore, as Delhi’s cherished landmark marks its first anniversary.

- PRACHI SATRAWAL

AS 2024 draws to a close, bibliophiles across the city tally their reading lists, nostalgically scrolling through Goodreads or recalling the titles that coloured their year. For some, books are devoured like meals; for others, their mere presence is a source of comfort. Amid this literary fervour, this year also marked the first anniversary of Delhi's cherished landmark, The Bookshop Inc, in Lodhi Colony continuing a legacy of curation, community, and quiet defiance against the tide of digital convenience.

"The Bookshop has always been about more than just books," says Sonal Narain, its owner and curator. "It's about introducing people to new worlds, new ideas. The joy of someone returning and saying, 'Oh my God, you gave me that book, and I loved it so much'—that's what keeps us going."

The Bookshop Inc in Lodhi Road is part of a legacy that began with KD Singh at Jor Bagh and Khan Market. Singh died in 2011, and after the pandemic, the family decided to step away.

"The property was also under litigation," Narain explains. "So we left that behind and moved here."

Narain, Singh's business partner at erstwhile The Bookshop and the current owner, reflects on people's enduring connection with the shop. "I don't have to say this is the same Bookshop; people just draw the lines themselves. Legacies are built when you put books before everything else. One person cannot carry it forward; it must be a community." A customer walking through the door to buy books will witness an institution of reading being transformed into an everyday culture, which is no easy feat.

For Narain and her colleague Mahika Chaturvedi, their journey with The Bookshop began serendipitously. Chaturvedi shares, "I've been here for eight and a half years now. I started when I was just 19 and looking for a summer internship."