A cosy new bookstore and reading room in Vile Parle is a sweet, engaging treat for all kinds of bibliophiles
Visitors take their pick at the bookstore. Pics/Anurag Ahire
I come from a family of readers. Growing up, if you wanted the latest Barbie or dress, you might not get it, but if you wanted a book, it was yours. My grandfather instilled the love of reading in me. It was a big part of who I was,” says Tanmayee Thakur, who shares that love with readers visiting her bookstore and reading room called Book Garden. Nestled in a corner of Vile Parle’s Agarwal Market, it welcomes readers of all ages. Her favourite moments, she tells us, are those when non-readers tag along with their friends and end up with a book.
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The facade of the new store
Thakur grew up in Mumbai. “Vile Parle has always had a reading culture,” she recalls. “This was one of the few areas in the city where kids would come back from school and sit down to read, instead of playing outside. Tilak Mandir Library is one of the oldest institutions here, and people still have membership cards,” she recollects. She also remembers several book depots and secondhand book-carts that would sprawl collections of books when she was younger.
A multi-genre curation of rare books
Thakur believes that the words ‘book’ and ‘garden’ best describe what she intends to do with her store. “I want the readers to feel like they’re coming to a garden, and the books are like the flowers that they pick. I don’t want them to feel hurried in making a decision,” she shares. This is evident in the way she greets the readers who trickle in during our conversation: with patience and care. The joy for her seems to be in the everyday surprises, like a customer deciding to spend their birthday at the store.
Tanmayee Thakur at the bookstore
She handpicks all the books; the ones that qualify are those that offer quality or uniqueness to the readers. A rare find, for example, is a book called The Art of Nautical Illustration, which is about paintings of ships. “I thought this book was so bizarre, why would anyone want to read it. But if someone does, I want them to be able to come to my store and pick it up.” A major highlight of the shop is that Thakur doesn’t discriminate between new and second-hand books. There are plenty of both. She stocks multiple copies of popular new books. “When it comes to second-hand books though, what makes them special is that I won’t find another copy like this.” To add to the adventure, Thakur stays away from arranging the books in a specific manner. Therefore, there is always a chance of discovering a hidden classic, an unexpected treasure here.
A reader browses through the collection
AT The Book Garden, 12-D, Shyam Kamal Road, Agarwal Market, Park Road, Vile Parle East.
TIME 2 pm to 7.30 pm (Tuesdays to Sundays)
EMAIL [email protected]
LOG ON TO @book_garden_ on Instagram
THE GUIDE’S FAVE FINDS
. See Inside Pirate Ships (A flap book) by Rob Lloyd Jones
. An Order from the Sky and Other Stories by Imayam
. Mr. Yowder, the Peripatetic Sign Painter by Glen Rounds
. Night Train to the Stars by Kenji Miyazawa
. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
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