Eleven thousand titles, chosen one at a time. A Hindi and Urdu section that is a section and not a shelf. A case of rare finds nobody will sell you online. And two chairs by the window that are yours for eighty rupees an hour.
Twenty-eight spines, the way they sit on the shelf by the door. Hover to pull one forward, click to read the back cover. Rust-edged spines are from the rare case.
Pick any three from this list and we will put five books in front of you, each with the reason it is there. This is roughly what happens when you ask Farooq at the counter, only faster.
Twenty people, one book, two hours and too much chai. No one is required to have finished it, but everyone is required to have opinions.
Read whatever you get to. Farooq is leading; last time he made three people cry, which he insists was the book's fault.
The mezzanine seats fourteen. Wi-Fi that works, plugs at every table, and a strict no-phone-calls rule that we do actually enforce. Bring your own book or read anything off the shelf and buy it only if you want to.
Yes, it is 1,300 pages. Yes, you will finish it. Start it on a long weekend and let the Mehras take over your life for a month.
— Farooq, counterThe funniest thing written about Indian village politics, and it has aged into a documentary. Read it in Hindi if you can; the translation is good but the jokes are better in the original.
— Meenal, Hindi sectionA biography of cancer that reads like a thriller. I have sold ninety copies of this and had exactly one person come back unhappy.
— Ravi, nonfictionAlmost always. Indian editions arrive in 3–5 days, imported ones in 2–3 weeks. We take no advance for Indian titles; imports need 50% because the shipping is real money if you change your mind.
Yes, at 25–35% of the printed price depending on condition, as store credit or cash. Bring them in; we sort through them with you rather than making you leave a bag and wait.
Because Amazon is not paying rent on Ansari Road or Meenal's salary. We hold 10–15% off on most new titles and match any genuine Indian-edition price you show us, within reason. The reading room and the club are the rest of the answer.
1,900 titles, and it is the section we are most stubborn about. Premchand to Geetanjali Shree, Ghalib to Gulzar, plus Devanagari transliterations of Urdu poetry for people who read the language but not the script.
On the ground floor, absolutely, and people do it every day. The mezzanine reading room is the paid one, because that is where the chairs are comfortable and the chai keeps coming.
Yes, on institutional terms with 20–28% discount depending on the list, GST invoice and delivery across NCR. Send the list on WhatsApp and we will price it in two days.
Or send us a message with the last three books you loved. Someone here will reply with five you should try, which is exactly what this shop is for.