As 2024 draws to a close, bibliophiles across the city tally their reading lists, nostalgically scrolling through Goodreads or recalling the titles that coloured their year. For some, books are devoured like meals; for others, their mere presence is a source of comfort. Amid this literary fervour, this year also marked the first anniversary of Delhi’s cherished landmark, The Bookshop Inc, in Lodhi Colony continuing a legacy of curation, community, and quiet defiance against the tide of digital convenience.
“The Bookshop has always been about more than just books,” says Sonal Narain, its owner and curator. “It’s about introducing people to new worlds, new ideas. The joy of someone returning and saying, ‘Oh my God, you gave me that book, and I loved it so much’—that’s what keeps us going.”
Legacy reimagined
The Bookshop Inc in Lodhi Road is part of a legacy that began with KD Singh at Jor Bagh and Khan Market. Singh died in 2011, and after the pandemic, the family decided to step away. “The property was also under litigation,” Narain explains. “So we left that behind and moved here.”
Narain, Singh’s business partner at erstwhile The Bookshop and the current owner, reflects on people’s enduring connection with the shop. “I don’t have to say this is the same Bookshop; people just draw the lines themselves. Legacies are built when you put books before everything else. One person cannot carry it forward; it must be a community.” A customer walking through the door to buy books will witness an institution of reading being transformed into an everyday culture, which is no easy feat.
For Narain and her colleague Mahika Chaturvedi, their journey with The Bookshop began serendipitously. Chaturvedi shares, “I’ve been here for eight and a half years now. I started when I was just 19 and looking for a summer internship.” Narain’s story is equally fortuitous: “I walked into the Khan Market shop because I wanted to know what running a bookshop felt like. KD told me, ‘Don’t think you’ll build a career here; I’m under litigation.’ I said okay and continued to work.”
Both credit their bond with the shop as mutual. “The Bookshop found us,” says Narain. “We were both pulled in by its charm and purpose and here we are.”
Sections on Dalit literature, feminism, and queer studies underscore the shop’s inclusive ethos, continuing to occupy prominent spaces in the central aisle and wall shelves. Other sections featured in the shop range from poetry, science, and philosophy to shelves on small-press publications, children’s literature, and art books. “When we came here, we made sure that our South Asian Fiction shelf doubles in capacity. We wanted to use this opportunity of a bigger space to expand our collection even more,” remembers Narain, adding, “Even now, we feel the need for a spinner — we used to have one at Jor Bagh for quirky fiction titles. Customers still ask for it: ‘Oh, we want that spinner back.’ The titles are on the shelves, but they’re harder to find.”
Browsing, Narain laments, is becoming a lost art. “People are glued to lists — BookTok recommendations, Instagram posts. They come in asking for specific titles and leave without looking around. That’s not what any bookshop is for. All bookstores aid in expanding the periphery of your interests. I encourage everyone to understand how algorithms work, and try to read against it.”
Bookshops, she says, have the power to take us out of ourselves and return us refined. Of course the question is ‘what do I want to read?’ And the shelves have so many different answers. After all, the bookshop is a liminal space, with promise and possibilities, between mirrored ceilings and wooden floors.
The story will go on
Despite rising rents and online competition, The Bookshop Inc’s team remains steadfast. “Being an independent bookstore means having a character and attracting those who respond to our idiosyncrasies,” says Narain. As an independent bookstore, the bookshop holds on to their political and philosophical stance and independent opinions. After all, as they say, “A bookstore is a space of ideas — it builds minds.”
However, independent bookstores are intricate and fragile ecosystems running on love for books and a blind faith in the community. “People love the idea of bookshops but don’t realise what it takes to keep one open,” Narain notes. “We provide a space for the city to breathe, escape, and find itself. That takes support.” Independent bookstores like The Bookshop are here for us with their hearts wide open to share the joy of reading and discovering, but they will always need our continued attention and support to thrive.
The bookselling art
Bookselling, Narain says, is not solely a romantic pursuit. “Bookshops are either family businesses or driven by passion. It’s draining — financially and otherwise. For visitors, it might be idyllic, but behind the scenes, it’s long hours, hard work, and constant curation.”
Narain and Chaturvedi see bookselling as both a profession and a calling. “We’re reluctant capitalists. If we could, we’d simply be here as readers, and never have to think about the finances. But running a bookshop is a fair bit of work, and the extent of mental gymnastics all of us in the profession have to do often surprises people.”
Despite the challenges of being in a constant people-facing job and the precarity of the business, the rewards are profound, the primary pleasure being introducing people to new books. Narain shares,“Working here has shown me a spectrum of humanity and emotion. Someone once called me a literary bartender — it’s a bit much, but one does get the point.”
Events at The Bookshop Inc add to this sense of community. “Reading is solitary,” Narain notes. “But within that solitariness, you want connections. Events are a way for people to find us and each other, while also challenging ourselves.” From author readings to themed calendars, these initiatives bring people together. “Our first calendar in 2020 featured a poem on KD by Amlanjyoti Goswami, a poet and customer,” Narain shares. “This year’s theme is love poems — a reflection of the warmth we cultivate here.”
Curating through chaos
In an age dominated by e-commerce giants, The Bookshop Inc stands apart through meticulous curation, tending to a bookish community, and offering a browsable space. “On Amazon, you find everything; here, you find the best. People can rely on our shelves,” Narain explains. “People often say they’ve never seen these books elsewhere. You’ll find most books everywhere. We just happen to put our labour towards making sure their visibility is never compromised.”
Curation here is a continuous exercise. “I have well-read customers who suggest titles. Mahika brings her own recommendations. It’s a constant curiosity — reading the The Guardian, The New York Times, or seeing what’s trending. I’m not on social media myself, but I use it to keep up with the world.”