Booksellers in Pune struggle to stay afloat amid Covid-19

PUNE: Neighbourhood bookstores in the city are doing their best to look past the uncertainty brought to their businesses due to the spread of coronavirus.


Considering that their customers are unwilling to step out of their houses during the lockdown, some enterprising booksellers are resorting to home delivery of books and payment on delivery options.

The owner of the Solanki Book Sellers in Camp, Anand Solanki (44), said, “Most of my patrons live within 15km radius of my shop. During the lockdown, I realized it was necessary to modernize to strike out competition posed by online sellers. When the lockdown was relaxed on May 15, I started with the home delivery of books without any extra charge. Now, I am selling more than 30 books a day.” Anand’s father, Kanhaiyyalal Bhagwandas Solanki, established the bookstall in 1989. It is a well-known spot for book lovers, especially for those from the cosmopolitan parts of Pune.

Sudhakar Waman Joshi (78) of Utkarsh Book Service and Utkarsh Publications in Deccan Gymkhana, one of the oldest establishments dating back to 1954, is unable to provide home delivery service due to inadequate workforce. “I have stock of more than 1 lakh books, especially Marathi titles. Our shop was shut due to lockdown but I have started opening it from 10am till 1pm. I have started offering my patrons select books for free home reading. Once they finish a book, they may come to my shop and exchange the book,” he said.

Narendra Chandan, owner of Book World on Fergusson College Road, said, “Although I have a stock of almost 50,000 books and have reopened my shop, the business is slow because 60% of my patrons are students living in hostels and they have returned to their native places due to the pandemic .”

Satish Vichare, All India Book Distributors (Bombay) Ltd manager for Maharashtra, Goa and Indore said, “Now when the lockdown has been relaxed, we have resumed supply to bookstores and book malls like Landmark, Crossword. We have started using social media for the promotion of books. Besides, considering the present economic crisis, our company is planning to come up with some attractive offers for book dealers.”