Shop Around The Corner

“Books have always been a constant in my life, sometimes a friend, a guide, sometimes a muse when I need inspiration or my escape when things aren’t going too well. Nothing beats the moment when you open the book and smell the pages. It is therapeutic in its way. I remember watching Meg Ryan run a little bookstore in a movie and I was mesmerized beyond words”

It was just after 3.00pm on a Sunday afternoon. Ice cream in my hand, I was casually taking a stroll around the busiest streets in Bangalore. I stopped in front of the Church gate metro station to admire the beautiful artwork on the walls. I started taking pictures and ate my ice cream in peace standing there. It was too sunny to be roaming outside at that time and so I started looking around for a place to go and that is when I turned back to face a huge building with “Blossom Book House” written on it.

Situated right opposite Amoeba near Church street’s Metro station, lies this rusty building which is every book lover's dream come true. Home to more than 3 lakh books, once you enter you will find everything from comics books to Literature to Fiction to Mystery and horror. The best highlight of this shop is the second-hand books which act as the main attraction for English literature students. You can find the best classics at Rs70-80 onwards here, books with crazy discounts (Heaven, didn’t I say) and that is just the ground floor. Once you start your ascent to the top, you can find old(sometimes new, if you are lucky) posters and announcements of plays and workshops in the nearby areas adorning the wall. The first floor of the bookstore shelves cookbook, history, management, etc. You can find both younger and older audiences here sitting near the shelves and going through the books, most of them do not return empty-handed. The owner of the book store Mayi Gowda says she does not face a challenge in terms of footfalls in the shop, rather she has her hands full all day long catering to individual customer’s demands. What started as a small shop of 2001 has evolved in a space that gives enough options to a book lover to explore and spend their weekends on.

My curiosity for exploring other bookstores did not take me very far along the street and I entered a lane in which I could see too many books stacked along the left wall. As I was searching for any person, my eyes fell on a door just past the wall like a small gateway lined with more books and a banner which said “Bookworm”. I entered the shop and asked the person behind the counter who later I came to know was the Owner, about a book which I wanted and he just called one of the guys to give me that book. The other person started chatting up with me and found I was interested in Writing and I was looking for any book which can help me in it, to my surprise they had a whole section dedicated to this. He kept asking me what kind of genre I am looking to write and then suggested some more books in a similar space. I thought of reading the books a little bit before deciding which to buy and they obliged. Once inside the shop, you would not feel like returning with just one book. The place is too simple, familiar and cozy which provides the best corner for reading books. I started reading the books a little, sat around watching others. While coming back I asked the owner if we can take some pictures for my blog and he happily agreed to give me his card in case I have a hard time finding them on social media. I was so confused which books to buy, he even explained what each book contains and how that can help me. I was finally happy with my bag full of my favorites to keep me company.

It was a Sunday Well Spent!!!

Here are some of the photographs from the day :