NEW DELHI: When businesses are tottering and many establishments are complaining of few customers, a new sign has gone up in the GK-II market. ‘
Eureka!
’ The joy of rediscovering this bookshop for children that disappeared from Alaknanda Market in 2014 is heightened when you discover that Roli Books too is back with its
CMYK bookstore
, which is the go-to place for aficionados looking for books on creative arts, design, architecture and food. How did this turning of the page happen when bookshops, particularly in the time of the pandemic, are writing their epilogues?
Swati Roy and M Venkatesh had been in business for over a decade before their bookstore, ‘Eureka!’ shut shop. Their passion for children’s books had created a “safe space” of discovery and exploration for kids. They could interact with authors and take part in storytelling sessions and other creative activities. What kept the two partners going was their series of Bookaroo festival for kids, now a landmark event.
This time the ‘Eureka!’ moment came when CMYK publisher and entrepreneur Kapil Kapoor approached Venkatesh and Roy to run a bookstore together.
“Brick and
mortar stores
allow customers to browse through books, which is an essential part of exploring what a person wants to read next. It leads to discoverability, which is not possible with online stores,” said Roy. Venkatesh added that the algorithms followed by online retailers like Amazon and
Flipkart will never be able to replace human recommendations. “Browsing and recommendations are essential aspects of buying a book. The process involves several cognitive aspects, and those cannot be replicated digitally,” he said.
It’s a risk but they all agree that bookstores will not get erased from people’s memories. “When we decided to share the space with ‘Eureka!’, we didn’t have a short term-vision. We were planning for the long term and looking at the next 10 years at least. Once the fear of the virus goes away, the experience of browsing, holding the book in your hand and personal recommendations will take precedence once again,” Kapoor said.
CMYK had shifted from Meharchand Market to GK-I over one-and-half-years ago. The Kapoors shuttered the shop again for over six months to alter the design for accommodating ‘Eureka!’. “Every neighbourhood needs a good bookstore. When we opened our store here, we realised that customers are also looking out for bestsellers and children’s titles. So, we decided to have a dedicated space for popular titles, young adults and children. We roped in Venkatesh and Swati because they are the experts in children’s literature,” said Kapoor.
The new store overlooks a park and has enough space for workshops and story-telling sessions. “We will start organising small events at the shop once the threats associated with coronavirus go away. The only challenge right now is to make sure we survive till the end of the lockdown,” added Kapoor.
Roy has, meanwhile, been disseminating information about new releases, delivering orders that customers place on phone and WhatsApp and connecting readers and authors by organising online meets.
A week ago, a girl with learning disabilities wrote to Roy about a session conducted by author Nandita Basu about her new title ‘The Piano: Story of a Friendship’. “The story is built on the premise that inanimate things, too, can be a person’s friend. The girl who wrote to us finds it difficult to socialise but after listening to Nandita, she realised she can have as many friends as she wants. And we passed on her message to the author. It’s these moments that cannot be replicated when you buy books online,” said Roy.
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