Being a bookseller in India

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 13:48:58 +0000

The scent of paper and ink lingers in the air, a sensory invitation into the world of bookselling in India. The weight of a novel shifts in a customer’s hands as they flip through its pages, deliberating between this one or the other, or perhaps both. A bookseller watches from behind the counter, well-versed in this quiet ritual, knowing when to interject with a well-placed recommendation and when to allow the magic of the book itself to do the persuading. To be a bookseller in India is to inhabit a world that is as much about passion as it is about business, a profession that exists at the intersection of storytelling, commerce, and cultural preservation. It is a journey filled with both reverence for the written word and the endless struggle of survival in an age that sometimes seems eager to leave the physical book behind.