The news papers are buzzing with how the iconic book stall in Mumbai 'Strand Book stall' is shutting down. In the face of severe competition this little book store hasn't been able to keep pace and is shutting down.
( Strand Book Stall )
Strand Book Stall has been a huge part of my life. My father, a self confessed bibliophile was a regular visitor to the shop. Our breakfast table and dinner table stories for years revolved around the eminent people he met at the book store, his interactions with the owner Padmashree T.N.Shanbaug and the ever ready to help manager- Shenvi uncle. Dad was so well connected to all the people at Strand that one had to only inform the guys at the shop that they were sent there by PPR, one would get a further discount on any book purchased.
It is difficult to visualise my dad without a Strand Bag. Strand would willingly hand him over a dozen of their bags , which he would pick up at regular intervals. God forbid if he used any other bag. The bags were always at home( and are there even today) Dad was a mobile advertisement for them. I vividly remember when he had to withdraw money for my wedding, he safely carried cash worth a lakh in a Strand Bag all the way from Colaba to Vile Parle. Even as we were aghast, may dad coolly said, who will imagine that this bag has money.People will only think it has some books.
For years it was difficult to meet my dad on Monday mornings. It was his weekly trip to Strand.This ritual continued a good fifteen years after his retirement till my mother decided that he was too old to travel alone!
On his journeys to the book stall, my children have accompanied him , during their vacations. It was almost a mini summer camp with me dropping them off on a Sunday evening at my parents house , so that they could go to Strand Book Stall on a Monday morning. While my daughter enjoyed the travel ( which included a train, a bus and a cab and the most coveted icecream!) , my son loved to pick up the books. Both have very fond memories of the place.
The relationship Dad shared with the shop was of joy and pride which he shared with many of us. Though I didn't go regularly to the shop, I have fond memories of the few visits that my sister and I did to the shop during our annual trips from Trivandrum. We used to spend hours at the shop sifting though books, reading some and finally picking up two or three for the vacations.
Later on , as a teacher, when I was in-charge of setting up the library for a school I worked in, Shenvi uncle and Strand helped me set it up in a jiffy.And to the management's delight they offered huge discounts.
Strand Book Stall has been a part of my life for the last four decades. directly and indirectly.
The old will give way to the new and Strand today symbolises just that. It will be alive in the memories of thousands of people whose life it has touched in small and big ways.
It will , forever hold a cherished place in the hearts of the PPR family for sure.
