There you are, Pheroze! You’ve found a new space to read,” remarked Lady Flora, as she spotted her friend poring over a book on a bench inside the Horniman Circle Garden. “It’s rather quiet here, My Lady. I never imagined it would make for a blissful experience in the heart of buzzing Fort. As it is, the missus keeps telling me to step out more often, and get some fresh air, away from those musty bookshelves at home, which dare I say, I’ve neglected by not giving a thorough dusting. I’d better get to it before Navroze this year,” he reminded himself.
“Pheroze, perhaps, we could head to Kitabkhana together? I spend hours there. I had attended their 15th anniversary recently,” she revealed. It elicited a surprised glance from Sir PM. “It was last-minute; the owners had extended a personal invite-only affair,” Lady Flora shared, attempting to soothe Sir PM’s frowned expression. “Some of the city’s most acclaimed writers and poets attended, to support this key cultural and literary space. As I wafted over the mezzanine floor, I overheard two writers in conversation; that exchange made me think about our city’s serious plight. Both appeared genuinely concerned about the lack of independent bookstores in south Mumbai. Most shuttered for a range of reasons, from redevelopment, to lack of funding.”
Sir PM said, “The Dhobi Talao neighbourhood was dotted with book nooks. Fort was a readers’ haven, packed with secondhand booksellers and standalone bookshops across PM (ahem!) Road, Mint Road and Ballard Estate. It’s a far cry now. Where will readers: those who work there, and the others who reside in the area, satiate their thirst for knowledge? Most libraries in the vicinity require memberships, and I’m unsure they are the patient sorts to wait for such things. They began to stroll in the picturesque garden; both preferred walking when matters got serious. “Having adequate bookstores and reading spaces is one aspect; the other is the lack of accessible literary avenues in a space-starved city,” elaborated Lady Flora. “Cousin Felicity is back from Finland. She shared an interesting observation in her recent correspondence. Their sidewalks are transforming into tiny footnotes from literature. Spaces at bus stops and footpaths that once sported advertisements and promotions, now display verses. Short poems greet commuters and pedestrians, nudging them to appreciate their literature in bite-sized form. Pheroze, imagine if such ideas were replicated here? How wonderful to read about your literary greats across multiple regional languages!” she trailed off.
Sir PM was gung-ho, “Absolutely. I’d love to read verse while waiting for my BEST bus. Imagine being enveloped in poetry by Sarojini Naidu and Rabindranath Tagore, inspirational quotes from Swami Vivekananda and Munshi Premchand! Such a novel way to ensure literature becomes organically part of our everyday lives. We may not be as lucky as Kolkata or Chennai as far as bookstores and reading spaces go, but we can at least attempt a start to make literature a greater part of our city’s character. I’ve made a note of this Finnish example, and will duly share it with my ex-bosses at my next monthly review. Meanwhile, here’s an apt sign-off quote by this brilliant modern-day comedian and writer called Jerry Seinfeld, “A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.”
mid-day’s Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city’s sights, sounds, smells and stones…wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana
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The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper.