Many of us book lovers in Delhi would have experienced the magic of vintage books and faded paper during those memorable early morning book-hunting trips to Daryaganj. But if you're looking for newer haunts for rare books then there are other options in town.
Anjali International Book Store, located in Central Market, Lajpat Nagar - that bustling space that sells anything and everything from coffee to coffins - has been named after owner Ramesh Madan's daughter Anjali. Madan, himself an avid bibliophile, has over 3 lakh books stashed away in various warehouses. This first-floor store, in a bit of mess with mounds of books along with shoeboxes (from Madan's ground-floor shoe-store), can yield treasures for the determined. I found a first edition copy of W Somerset Maugham's Catalina, priced at a paltry Rs 200. Apart from classics, comic fans will be delighted to find copies of old Indrajal comics, Amar Chitra Katha books, Mad magazines as well as collector's edition magazines. Madan's most precious item is The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven - one of the six copies in the world - that contains records and music sheets, priced at Rs 30,000. No wonder the bookstore has many loyal customers who trek all the way from Mumbai and Bangalore for Madan to hunt down the rare books on their wish lists. But the best part: since it is located in Lajpat Nagar, haggling can be serious business with some happy rewards.
Amid grimy auto repair shops and coaching class centres in Kotla Mubarakpur is nestled Timeless Bookstore, a red brick building with French windows and forest green shutters. A "book art studio," it can be described as part Oscar Wilde's study and part Miss Havisham's attic. Eclectic period furniture placed against polished brick walls, a grandfather clock sitting pretty on a table, a piano in one corner, a rocking chair with a teddy bear in it and a 1946 BSA motorcycle - this is one place where you can lounge for hours while browsing through the collection.
The place is cluttered but the books are arranged thematically - travel on one shelf, history on another, art on the third, and music and film together. Stocking mostly coffee-table books, the best picks here are almost all of Raghu Rai's works (from his Varanasi, Calcutta, Mother Teresa series, priced at Rs 2,000 each) and Henri Cartier Bresson in India by Satyajit Ray (also for Rs 2,000). There is a 50-year commemorative edition on Martin Acoustic Guitars for Rs 2,500. It has stories about how they custom-made signature edition guitars for artists such as Babyface, Eric Clapton, CSNY and Joan Baez. And, a photo album called 365 days of the Beatles, which has, predictably, 365 photos chronicling the journey of the Beatles. The pride of the maverick publisher and bookstore owner Ravi Sabharwal is a signed copy of a limited edition, The Godfather Family Album, with photographs from Steve Schapiro, not for sale.
Hauz Khas Village's slow but steady decline from culture-lover's haven to commercial hub has seen the demise of Navratana Art Gallery and Bookstore that had set up shop in 1999. Now having moved to a gallery space in Gurgaon, owner Nikhil Gupta invites customers by appointments to view his collections that include signed copies of books by Jawaharlal Nehru and Lala Lajpat Rai as well as historical maps of India such as those from Bombay Presidency, Jaipur and Hyderabad.
Anjali International Book Store, located in Central Market, Lajpat Nagar - that bustling space that sells anything and everything from coffee to coffins - has been named after owner Ramesh Madan's daughter Anjali. Madan, himself an avid bibliophile, has over 3 lakh books stashed away in various warehouses. This first-floor store, in a bit of mess with mounds of books along with shoeboxes (from Madan's ground-floor shoe-store), can yield treasures for the determined. I found a first edition copy of W Somerset Maugham's Catalina, priced at a paltry Rs 200. Apart from classics, comic fans will be delighted to find copies of old Indrajal comics, Amar Chitra Katha books, Mad magazines as well as collector's edition magazines. Madan's most precious item is The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven - one of the six copies in the world - that contains records and music sheets, priced at Rs 30,000. No wonder the bookstore has many loyal customers who trek all the way from Mumbai and Bangalore for Madan to hunt down the rare books on their wish lists. But the best part: since it is located in Lajpat Nagar, haggling can be serious business with some happy rewards.
Amid grimy auto repair shops and coaching class centres in Kotla Mubarakpur is nestled Timeless Bookstore, a red brick building with French windows and forest green shutters. A "book art studio," it can be described as part Oscar Wilde's study and part Miss Havisham's attic. Eclectic period furniture placed against polished brick walls, a grandfather clock sitting pretty on a table, a piano in one corner, a rocking chair with a teddy bear in it and a 1946 BSA motorcycle - this is one place where you can lounge for hours while browsing through the collection.
The place is cluttered but the books are arranged thematically - travel on one shelf, history on another, art on the third, and music and film together. Stocking mostly coffee-table books, the best picks here are almost all of Raghu Rai's works (from his Varanasi, Calcutta, Mother Teresa series, priced at Rs 2,000 each) and Henri Cartier Bresson in India by Satyajit Ray (also for Rs 2,000). There is a 50-year commemorative edition on Martin Acoustic Guitars for Rs 2,500. It has stories about how they custom-made signature edition guitars for artists such as Babyface, Eric Clapton, CSNY and Joan Baez. And, a photo album called 365 days of the Beatles, which has, predictably, 365 photos chronicling the journey of the Beatles. The pride of the maverick publisher and bookstore owner Ravi Sabharwal is a signed copy of a limited edition, The Godfather Family Album, with photographs from Steve Schapiro, not for sale.
Hauz Khas Village's slow but steady decline from culture-lover's haven to commercial hub has seen the demise of Navratana Art Gallery and Bookstore that had set up shop in 1999. Now having moved to a gallery space in Gurgaon, owner Nikhil Gupta invites customers by appointments to view his collections that include signed copies of books by Jawaharlal Nehru and Lala Lajpat Rai as well as historical maps of India such as those from Bombay Presidency, Jaipur and Hyderabad.
Anjali International book store, Central Market, Lajpat Nagar, 9810937779; Timeless Bookstore, Kotla Mubarakpur, 011-46056198; Navratana, Gurgaon, 9899867869