In Which Nalanda Lives Up To Its Name
Sated after lunch at the charming Basilico in Colaba on Saturday, one decided to venture into Nalanda, the bookshop at the Taj.
It had been years since one's last visit, but one had frequented the place often enough during one's salad days -- especially late at night after work, as it's the one (perhaps the only) bookshop in the city that's open till midnight. Most bookshops in hotels tend to have just the token collection for tourists; Nalanda was always different.
To one's delight, there was a fascinating selection on offer, comprising many volumes that one had been fruitlessly searching for in the city's other bookshops.
Among one's pickings were Another Bullshit Night In Suck City by Nick Flynn; Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer; You Remind Me Of Me by Dan Chaon and Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin.
Attempting to forget the damage to one's savings account and clutching the white plastic bags carefully, one then walked out into the Mumbai monsoon, vowing to return soon.
It had been years since one's last visit, but one had frequented the place often enough during one's salad days -- especially late at night after work, as it's the one (perhaps the only) bookshop in the city that's open till midnight. Most bookshops in hotels tend to have just the token collection for tourists; Nalanda was always different.
To one's delight, there was a fascinating selection on offer, comprising many volumes that one had been fruitlessly searching for in the city's other bookshops.
Among one's pickings were Another Bullshit Night In Suck City by Nick Flynn; Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer; You Remind Me Of Me by Dan Chaon and Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin.
Attempting to forget the damage to one's savings account and clutching the white plastic bags carefully, one then walked out into the Mumbai monsoon, vowing to return soon.
posted by PrufrockTwo at
26.6.05
4 Comments:
Ya, it's amazing how it's more than a hotel bookshop.
Ever been to the bookshop at Bangalore airport? It's AWEsome.
By
Anonymous, at 3:57 PM
Meanwhile, the bland Crossword continues to spread its tentacles all over the city...
By
PrufrockTwo, at 5:18 PM
Yes. Crossword. Sigh. But it DOES have a fairly decent selection of children's books. That said, I wish their staff knew SOMEthing about the goods they sell. The situation wasn't quite as dire when Sriram and Anita inhabited the Mahalakshmi store. Guess this is what happens when things go corporate.
By
Anonymous, at 12:48 AM
It's almost enough to make me join the CPM.
By
Anonymous, at 12:49 AM
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