Co-founded by Virat Chandhok of the erstwhile Lotus bookshop in Bandra, this bookstore is for the discerning reader, with curated picks and an author list most would be unfamiliar with. It’s home to the classics and regional literature – available in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Urdu – where you will be left to your own devices for as long as you want..Strand Book Stall, Dhannur, Sir P. No wonder then that this cramped, erratic, no-frills bookstore is still favoured and revered.If you’re a book lover, Mumbai has a lot to offer. It’s still not that common to find contemporary children’s tales in Indian voices, but at Kahani Tree you will find them in various languages – English, Hindi, bilingual and more. 28, Raghuvanshi Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (w), Mumbai 400 013.Trilogy, 1st floor, Building No.N. Running your eyes over the neatly arranged bookcases, filled to the brim, you will always find a soul or two lost in reading and little tots with parents in tow. You will find two for sure: Ahalya and Meethil Momaya, whose labour of love this is. For World Book Day 2017, the space was brimming with lovely, colourful post-it notes across the aisles with short book reviews they asked their patrons to write. It’s these little things that stick. Also, don’t miss out on the place mats and wonderful maps they stock. But then as Chandok says, “an exceptional bookstore stocks books that customers don’t yet know they want to read. Phone: 022 2660 9327— By arrangement with TheCityStory.” Walk in and you would agree.

The moment you walk in, you’re surrounded by Indian authors and stories that go beyond traditional mythology.Strand Book StallThis age-old bookstore in the packed Fort area will always be a living epitome of T. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001. Go over and let this gentleman surprise and delight you with names you can’t pronounce correctly.Wayword & Wise, Strategic House, 44, Mint Road, Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400 001. (Photo: Suruchi Maira) The last time I visited a bookstore (which was just last week), I sat down to read Neil Gaiman’s The View from the Cheap Seats: incidentally, a chapter wherein he talks about his favourite bookstores.Kahani Tree, Industry Manor, 2nd Floor, A. The upper floor is entirely dedicated to children, as are the chalks and boards. On my latest visit, I picked up The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, who the Pushkin Press says is Finland’s best kept literary secret. If you’re the bulk cigarette lighters kind who desires a cup of coffee to go with your books, there is the Food for Thought Café on the ground level. Phone: 080805 90590Kahani TreeA unique little bookstore in Prabhadevi, this one is exclusively for the kids. Phone: 022 6170 2276Wayword and WiseA relatively new entrant to the city’s bookstore scene, Wayword & Wise completes the Fort trinity. There is no clear pattern to discern at Strand; different genres and authors jostle for the same space. He loved books and was kind enough to offer additional discounts to students, even giving away books free of cost, with a simple promise that he be paid back when the reader’s means allowed. Phone: 022 2266 1994/022 2266 1719Kitab KhanaWith high ceilings, wooden columns, and a creaky albeit gorgeous staircase, Kitab Khana is a city favourite. If they’re too expensive, you can always browse through these beauties, gazing out the window, with a cup of coffee in hand.. Suess, Roald Dahl, and other beloved international names in the inner section. But I can describe a few of the repositories that have shaped my life. It’s again a highly curated enterprise, with the library staking more claim to the space than the bookstore.I wonder who I would have been, without those shelves, without those people and those places, without books. Phone: 022 2430 6780Granth Book StoreA stone’s throw from Juhu beach is Granth with its excellent hardbound collection: the kind you would want to take back home, put at the centre of your bookcase, and hand down to your next of kin. Phone: 022 6634 9946TrilogyTrilogy, a library/bookstore in Raghuvanshi Mills is a lovely place to hang out or run into fellow bibliophiles. It’s the mezzanine floor, though, that’s the perfect place to be.

With high ceilings, wooden columns, and a creaky albeit gorgeous staircase, Kitab Khana is a city favourite. But with such a rich array of names for company, there’s nothing to complain about. Marathe Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400 025.”I couldn’t describe bookstores or their lure better than that. Many of the books, in fact, are for reference only, to be read at the library itself. Shanbhag. From hole-in-the wall legendary places to newer haunts, here’s a list of must-visits. You also have, of course, Dr. Or walk upstairs and enjoy the artwork of the little ones. I’m yet to find out, but it comes highly recommended by Chandok. It exudes an old-world charm that draws you in each time you walk past it. Actually, I’m not sure if you can lay your hands on the chalk. Find out and let me know?Granth Book Store, 30/A, HM House, Juhu Tara Road, Mumbai 400 049. But it’s this very chaos that helps one stumble onto something special.Kitab Khana, Somaiya Bhavan, 45/47 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001. It ends like this: “Writing this, all those bookshops come back, the shelves, and the people. I would have been lonely, I think, and empty, needing something for which I did not have the words. There are Kahani Tree recommendations to help you along, but you can always reach out to founder Sangeeta Bhansali. You will come back richer, in a way, but with a much lighter wallet.

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