BENGALURU: If it weren’t for a sign that declares its presence, you could walk past Walking BookFairs without knowing it existed. Set up in the balcony of a house at JP Nagar, this bookstore is a few weeks old, and is slowly turning out to be the new go-to spot for bibliophiles. As you walk up to the store, you will even see some books stacked into a nook by the side of the staircase. “We had this space, and wanted to use it for the community,” says Upali Mishra, the store’s manager.
The 10x20 sq.ft balcony is as cosy as can be, with book-lined blue shelves running along one side, and other smaller tables with more stacks neatly littering the space. “We have about 3,000 books on display, but our stock comprises 6,000-7,000 books,” she adds. This isn’t her first time being a bookseller, since she also organised a street pop-up bookshop at JP Nagar in October, in association with their sister concern, Walking BookFairs in Bhubaneswar.
“We organised pop-up bookshops all over the country - from Imphal, Itanagar and Raipur to Pune and Mysuru. We received a great response in Bengaluru. Some readers asked us to open a permanent store here,” says Satabdi Mishra, who co-founded Walking BookFairs with Akshaya Bahibala and runs the store with him in Bhubaneswar.
This led to the birth of the Bengaluru store, which, incidentally, was officially launched on November 23, just a day after Goobe’s Book Republic, an iconic bookstore in the heart of the city, announced its struggle to stay afloat. Acknowledging the situation, Bahibala says, “It is a tough time for independent small businesses throughout India, thanks to neo-liberalism, where everything is controlled by rich businesses.” Rent too plays a role, deliberates Upali, revealing that they ruled out Indiranagar and HSR for setting up the shop as the monthly rent went beyond `45,000. “Here, we pay `25,000,” she says.
But at the same time, some onus also lies with the bookseller to attract customers, adds Upali. Walking BookFairs runs a range of discount offers, such as two books for `222, five books for `555, 10 books for `999, 20 books for `2,100, and 30 books for `3,000. They also have a year-round 20 per cent discount on single books. According to Upali, the store sees 10-15 buyers and sales worth `20,000-`25,000 during weekends. “All bookstores in India get a trade margin of 30-45 per cent. We choose our community over profit, and share our margin with readers,” explains Satabdi.
They also keep their operations basic so as to run on a small cost. For example, the bookshelves were made and painted by the team at a cost of `12,000. The lightbulbs carry a faux chandelier-like drop-down element, made with rope strands. “One side of the balcony showed the sanitary pipes of the house next door. So, Akshay wove together two kinds of mesh, decorated it, and hung it on the wall to cover that up,” says Upali.
Their goal is clear: To make books accessible to everyone. After all, says Satabdi, “Books are the biggest tool for social change and empowerment. And bookstores are about building a better, inclusive world with less boundaries.”