‘Book’ing a fresh experience
BENGALURU: A book in one hand, hot chocolate in the other, and a view of city from quiet spots in the bustling city was a luxury in pre-coronavirus days. But now, these cafe-cum-libraries which, over the last decade, gained prominence, are experimenting different ways to engage with the audience. Atta Galatta, where many prominent authors, including diplomat Pavan K Varma, launched their books, is bidding adieu to their space in Kormangala. At their new venue in Indiranagar, which is a hop-skip-and-jump away from the Metro station, co-founder Lakshmi Sankar hopes to re-create the same experience.
“We had been on the lookout for a quaint place for a while, but the pandemic, in a way, did some good disruption,” says Sankar, adding that this property is their own, which reduces the finances involved in running the bookstore. “The challenge has been to find a quaint place with a view without it being wedged amid high rises,” she says. While the moving process has started, to ensure that the space resembles the former, as well as include additions, they are hoping to be fully functional by early next year.
But to keep their audience engaged, Sankar had started online programmes, Insider-Outsider, where Indian authors settled abroad are interviewed, as well as a show where audience can ask authors questions. “There is online fatigue, but we are trying to navigate through it. At this point, we need to figure out a new business plan, which would be a combination of events and experiments, to see what works,” she says.
To keep themselves in currency – with the cafe and store closed owing to the lockdown – they decided to offer a 50 per cent discount, a first sale in eight years, on all their books. “We need to keep the circulation going. It might be the same set up, same hall, but the world outside has changed. So, we know that what worked before might not be viable now and need to plan accordingly,” she says.