Iconic bookstall in Mumbai to shut down

Strand Book Stall  one of the most popular book stalls for generations in Mumbai, will shut down by the end of this month.  The bookstall will see its end a day after its founder T N Shanbhag's ninth death anniversary, which falls on February 27.

Shanbagh's daughter, Vidya Virkar, has confirmed that the bookstall is getting closed this month-end.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam, former Prime Ministers, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, industrialist JRD Tata, Amitabh Bachchan, were among the prominent personalities visiting the bookstall.

Founded in 1948-49, the bookstall has always promoted outstanding books of various genres and was the first in the world to offer 20% discount on all books.

"Books are the best friend of human beings, more and more people should read books," the legendary Shanbaug, a recipient of Padma Shri, had once said.
 
"We are closing down this month-end….the last day is nearing, the reverse countdown has begun," a senior employee told DH.
 
"Shanbhag was a pleasing personality. He would guide the patrons, he would help newcomers, he would help and speak to them and make them at ease. He would take time out to engage in a discussion with regulars. You go there to purchase a book and come out with four…he gave a personal touch," said Raj Suri, a tour guide-turned-publisher, who is also an avid reader.  "With Internet, smartphones and online sellers it is difficult to sustain bookshop business," he added.  
 
Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are flooded with reactions on the closing down of Strand.

"It was a hangout for place us, we would go there, look at the books, read couple of pages and select what to buy," said Yogie Sharma, a lawyer by profession.
 
Strand Book Stall was founded by Shanbhag in November, 1948, near the erstwhile Strand Cinema in Colaba and shifted to its current location at PM Road, Fort, in 1954.
For the last seven decades, it has been a paradise for book-lovers.
 
Other bookstalls to have faced shut down are:
 
Rhythm House
The iconic Rhythm House, the music shop frequented by who's who in the Kala Ghoda area of Mumbai, closed down in February, 2016. Musicians and celebrities like late Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Shammi Kapoor to maestro A R Rehman and several others visited this music shop, which has a special page in the history of Mumbai.
 
Samovar Cafe
Cafe Samovar located within the Jehangir Art Gallary, which has been patronized by celebrities, closed down in March, 2015.   Bollywood couples like Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi, legendary painter late M F Hussain, Tyeb Mehta,  actor and writer Girish Karnad, filmmaker Shyam Benegal, actor Jackie Shroff among others. It is said that Amitabh proposed to Jaya in this place.
 
The Wayside Inn
The Wayside Inn, the iconic cafe at Kala Ghoda, where Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar used to sit in Table No. 4, closed down in February, 2002. Legends like David Sassoon, Cowasji Jehangir, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Salim Ali used to visit this place.