The Hidden Book Nook Of Anna Nagar

Like many of you I am a bookworm (bibliophile is too pretentious for me) and I am always to be found with a book or two within easy reach all over the house. I have over the years haunted all the famous secondhand bookshops and pavement bookshops all over the city to replenish my reading thirst on a limited budget, as a student and surviving on pocket money. Book buying was my only vice and what my peers used to spend on cigarettes and alcohol was in my case usually spent hunting up bargains on Moore market or at Triplicane’s Wallajah Road pavement shops. When I got my first job and started seeing some serious money, I felt my status improve enough to saunter into the iconic Higginbothams in mount road or landmark’s flagship store (the original branch) at Nungambakam, browse in the comfort of air-condition and buy divinely smelling new books without worrying about the cost (most often marked in dollars and pounds). As time passed and I grew more prosperous and busier I shifted over to the convenience of reading e-books by downloading them off the net.

But however convenient an e-book reader is compared to a physical book with backlighting, highlighting, automatic bookmarking etc, the feel of holding a book in your hand and turning over the pages as fast as you can (to read the thrilling climax) will never be achieved. Hence I keep going back to the pavement shops again and again, hunting for good bargains and sometimes for some unknown author who surprises me. I also hunt down if possible the missing from my collection editions of books I read in a series. Some rare gems can often be discovered serendipitously in second hand bookshops, something for which I would have been looking for years and suddenly would chance upon one day.

And today based on a friend’s recommendation I happened to visit a secondhand bookshop which had a absolute gem of a selection of books. If you have ever passed through Anna Nagar Roundtana, you might have noticed the round building which gives it its name. in the basement of the building, there is a bookshop called by the name of its owner Moorty’s. I have passed by the place numerous times but never really went down the steps to the dark basement and entered the shop. Till today, when an out of town friend happened to mention that he had heard about the shop from a colleague and curiosity piqued I finally went down those dark steps and entered Moorty’s book nook.

First of all, let me tell you, that the bookshop is every bargain hunter’s idea of heaven. It’s overflowing with books, cartons and cartons of it boxed and piled everywhere and even the owner is not sure of what box contains what. Every kind of imaginable subject is there including all the bestsellers. And best of all these books are all originals in newly minted condition and not pirated photocopies. As Mr.Moorty the owner tells, he gets the unsold books directly from all the big publishing houses in mint condition from their warehouses and sells them at a marked down price of 60%-70% which is quite a bargain when it comes to the international bestsellers. A crisp new novel at less than half the prize you get at the big bookshops, what more are you looking for. So booklovers and bibliophiles, if you are looking for good bargains and have a limited budget head over to Moorty’s bookshop at Anna Nagar Roundtana. It’s even open on Sundays, so what’s your excuse?

P.S. As Mr.Moorty is an old man and says he would be the last of his family to be running this shop let’s hope that the shop stays open for many more years. Otherwise one more forgotten landmark of our Madras city will disappear forever.

Mid-Summer Madness

As I came out of the "Iconic" Higginbothams building , which is soon to be razed to the ground/or partially demolished (depending on which source you believe) to include a railway station for the Chennai Metro Rail- a project which will signal that the city has arrived on the map of the uber-metropolises of the world, er, that is a different story and I will deal with it on another post.

To re-capitulate, after I exited the Higginbothams book shop after a rather fruitless search for Clive Cusslers latest, which might hit the shores of India maybe an year later, depending on its sales abroad(as I was informed)- I glanced up at the sun beating its harsh glare all over the city. Noon time. A time when mad dogs and Englishmen stay indoors (out of the heat).

As I am neither I ventured forth towards the Mount Road post office building and glancing up at the digital signboard positioned strategically aboard to be visible to all three approaches at the junction of the Mathura Restaurant (one which i can recommend for wholesome veg food on limited budgets-like impromptu birthday parties for large group of friends) building (which now has the Tata Croma Electronics mega-store occupying the lower two floors)I confirmed that my senses did not lie and the digital board confirmed that the temp was past 40*C....when the previously quoted mad dogs curl up in the shade for a snooze while the Englishmen used to have a dripping cold beer and then curl up in the shade too (with their memsaab's I presume)- the people were all hurrying past with a strange sense of purpose which one does not usually see in the rambling walk of the pedestrians.

I could only attribute this hurried walk to the blazing hot noon sun- strange how it wasnt affecting me that bad. But then as a kid, I remember how we used to play street (and terrace) cricket all through the day without giving a thought to the sun or how it might affect our complexion. I dont recall a single kid in those days complaining about the hot sun- in the long looked for summer hols (april & may) when the vacations came...so what is it about becoming an adult which makes us less adventurous? (or more finicky?)

So, I walked on towards my ultimate destination- Richie street the paradise of electronics aficionados. What i was looking for to purchase was an open secret- the latest hollywood blockbusters in DVD rip formats- the films which i do not have the leisure time to catch up in the theatre but dont want to miss all the same...So i entered the shop, made my selections and the order was transmitted to the storage keeper (at a different location) for immediate delivery to the shop where i would pay the bill and be handed the anonymous parcel. The talk in the shop was all about two things...

The first was that the shop keepers were all celebrating the fall of the previous government. the former Cm had hastily and haphazardly constructed a new secretariat building at the Govt Estate opposite Ritchie St and the ever zealous police force had issued eviction notices to the shop-owners deeming them a security risk to the govt officers. The flabbergasted shopkeepers were planning whether to move the courts and face all the attending legal hassles or simply wind up and move when the electorate gave them a pleasant shock by routing out the govt lock, stock and barrel. The talk was all about the shop keepers relief and celebrations on the fall of the govt and boasting about how their votes too might have made the difference in crucial constituencies. On such little things, do the mighty fall.

The other reason the shop-keepers were in a celebratory mood was that the new govt had promised lap-tops to all the school children. This, one of them commented was going to turn into a windfall to them - as almost half the laptops to be provided to the kids would in due course of time (as soon as possible) wind up in Ritchie street for re-selling to college kids and software engineers. As the shop keeper told me "avvangalukku value theriyadhu sir". roughly translated - they wont appreciate it (if they get it free) and poor working class families and drunkard fathers would view it as a redeemable (liquid) asset- mortgaging it as soon as they recieve it. I just hope that this prediction turns out be false. But these are sharp businessmen and they know the pulse of the people.

Hving made my purchases I left the shop and headed back home with an afternoon of the hottest summer blockbusters to look forward too and strangely, the sun didnt seem so harsh now.....