In the era before Covid-19, there was a courtship between humans and books; one that repeated itself daily in the lambent confines of books...
In the era before Covid-19, there was a courtship between humans and books; one that repeated itself daily in the lambent confines of bookstores in my city, Mumbai. It was a ritual for me that stopped temporarily because of the lockdown.
Who knows whether the magic will return when bookstores in Mumbai reopen? How will Covid-19 change the experience of shopping for books – books that challenge, disconcert, or sometimes peer through to the core of your being? Each book has a synaesthetic energy field radiating around it, and feeling it sustains one’s spirit.
As a professional journalist, poet, and writer, I derive not only knowledge and emotional sustenance from a visit to a bookstore, but also a definition of the self. Of all the places that reinforce my understanding of who I am, bookstores are undoubtedly the most impactful. In the near future, will I be able to visit a local bookstore in Mumbai, a virus hotspot, without experiencing pangs of anxiety? Will other bibliophiles like me be able to do the same?
A long wait
I spoke to managers and proprietors at three of the most well-known independent bookstores in Mumbai – Kitab Khana, Trilogy, and Title Waves – to understand how their businesses...
