Lokhandwala shootouts to 26/11 attacks, this Mumbai bookseller has seen it all

In 1969 Rudramani Biradar arrived in Mumbai to sell books for a living In his profound experience as a bookseller he withstood the shootouts at Lokhandwala survived the 2611 attacks saw the downfall of Colaba and lived through the changing cityscape of MumbaiCurrently he runs a bookshop called lsquoBook Loversrsquo in Lokhandwala complex and is fondly referred to as lsquoManirsquoHailing from a small village in Karnataka he lost his father at a young age His aunt brought him to Colaba and hired him to work at her store called lsquoShankar Book Stallrsquo He began his journey to sell books while never really knowing how to read one Reminiscing the bygone days he sighs ldquoColaba used to be way better back then We used to have chawl systems and more open skies to daydream to Now Colaba is a rapidly growing jungle of corporate offices and apartmentsrdquo Back then his abode was never fixed At times he slept in a chawl other times it was a mattress at a railway guest house or a PG that cost him Rs 35 a monthWorldrsquos Best Book Store in ColabaMani had a real flair to run a bookstore He had byhearted the titles of each book along with their selling prices Auntrsquos shop used to be a mess with the disorderly placement of books He observed the fallacies and placed the books as per their genres To keep the readers intrigued he also rotated the books in the display with new launchesBack in the 70s Colaba used to witness a higher footfall of tourists and people from the aviation industry Those delegates used to stay at the Taj Mahal Palace around the year and come to Manirsquos bookshop to fulfil their reading needs ldquoI was catering to fifteen airlines including British South African Singaporean and European They all had my visiting cards and gave my shop a preference over the rest Earlier books in India used to be cheaper and tax free as opposed to the expensive ones sold abroad In the limited space of 12 by 2 ft we offered the best of literature and the best of writers at the best prices They used to call us the Worldrsquos Best Book Shoprdquo said Mani filled with joyA few years later he ran another branch of the same bookstore at Linking Road Bandra It was here that he served the likes of Amitabh Bachchan Jaya Bachchan Dilip Kumar Poonam Dhillon Mahesh Bhatt Anupam Kher Sunil Dutt and many more from the film industry1991 Lokhandwala Complex ShootoutAfter working for his aunt in Colaba and Bandra it was time for Mani to launch his very own bookshop Back in 1991 Lokhandwala was quickly losing its market value Retail shop owners were selling their property as business was not value accretiveIn the early 90s Lokhandwalarsquos popularity was negative owing to the recent acts of crime Indiarsquos first daylight encounter had taken place between gangsters and Bombay Police on 16 November 1991 Seven gangmen led by Maya Dolas one of the prominent lieutenants of Dawood Ibrahim were decimated by the AntiTerrorism Squad headed by AA Khan This led to fear amongst locals who began relocating for safety issuesMani noted the contact on the billboard and went back home to plan his next move Amidst the rising fear and depleting confidence in Lokhandwala he called up the owner and bought the same shop a week later Thus began the journey of his first bookshop in 1992While he was setting up his shop his publisher name not disclosed at Manirsquos request reached out for a meeting Mani was excited to show him his newly bought store and invited him over Upon arrival the publisher asked ldquoTum kya kar rahe ho idhar Yaha bookshop nahi chalega yaha bandook chalta hairdquo His publisher advised him to give up the shop as there was no scope of business in the area with a history of crime Mani listened to him carefully with a grim expression His conviction was not shaken by the discouraging wordsA man of grit he responded ldquoThis spot in Lokhandwala will be a testament to my vision Whoever will enter my store will forget guns and turn to booksrdquo As the years went by his business began to settle One fine afternoon a young woman in her mid20s entered the store with a revolver in her hand Mani described her to be a fair and tall woman of a good physique As she came in she dropped the revolver on his table and asked ldquoGive me one set of Jeffrey Archer and Sidney Sheldonrdquo He looked at her revolver and was taken aback by her enigmatic presence Mani obeyed hurriedly and pulled out the books she requested He recalls placing the bill on the same table where the revolver was keptThis was a lifechanging incident for Mani which made him believe in the power of books From that moment he has been on a mission to spread the habit of reading till there are no more guns And since then there has been no looking back2611 attacks at The Taj Mahal HotelldquoThe 2611 attacks completely ruined Colabardquo For a while in 2008 Mani drifted to side gigs at Colaba while his wife handled their store at Lokhandwala He recollects ldquoOn the eve of 2611 I was coming back from Shiv Sagar when I spotted around 18 customers next to my store The clock struck 930 pm when I asked my help boy Was there a cricket match today Why the chaos Before he could answer I saw more people running frantically on the road The whole road was full of people and goods that fell off from the shopsrdquo Amidst the chaos Mani heard someone scream ldquoGuns are being fired inside the airportrdquoMani continues ldquoI couldnrsquot grasp the situation and ran in a frenzy towards the Regal cinema When I reached there I heard loud shots being fired inside the Taj hotel A week ago I had read about it in the newspaper that terrorists are going to attack schools colleges and other crowded places Thatrsquos how it struck me that this is a terrorist attackrdquoldquoDue to mass hysteria no taxi drivers were ready to take rides I wanted to rush back home so I called a taxi to drop me at Churchgate station I took my help boy along with me On my way back home I started getting calls from my friends inquiring about the attacks Within minutes the whole of Mumbai was under attacks at multiple points including Colaba Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus Nariman Point Leopold Cafeacute Taj and what not So many people died A South African captain inside Leopold Cafeacute a 70yearold couple someonersquos daughter someonersquos son approximately 170 people Colaba was shut for the next five days It got over in front of my eyes The markets never rose back to previous levels and it has never been the same since thenrdquoMani discontinued working at the stall next to Colaba metro station He took no side gigs and got back to work at his own store in LokhandwalaNomenclature of Manirsquos bookshopBefore his bookshop was even functional Mani knew he would call it ldquoBook Loversrdquo In an attempt to answer himself he asks ldquoWho is a true book loverrdquo A memory flashes before his eyes as he recollects his yesteryears from Colaba ldquoSince I wasnrsquot a wellread kid I used to be very fond of reading magazines If there were no customers in the shop I would pick a corner and immerse myself into the glossy pages The shining images filled me up with ecstasy and made everything seem larger than life Once while flipping through those pages I saw an image that struck me It was a picture of a young boy reading a book while sitting on his potty I was baffled by the imagery I stared at it for a while and immediately fell in love with it At that moment I knew who a true book lover isrdquoOne turns into a book lover when they instill the habit of reading from childhood The temperament to read takes shape when our minds are credulous According to Mani one cannot develop the habit of reading once they have matured ldquoWhen one hits 30 their focus breaks as they get occupied with other pursuits in liferdquoMani named his bookshop after the boyrsquos striking image He believes that the habit of reading can open up onersquos mind to wide possibilities Consequently he wants to create more book lovers in this world He goes on to add ldquoReading has the potential to unravel magic in our minds and take us places we canrsquot be physically atrdquoldquoReaders are beautiful peoplerdquoToday Manirsquos bookshop is buzzing with Christmas celebrations He has put a special Christmas sale on books to attract readers At any point of time his store looks lively with people of all age groups from young kids to adults Mani is an expert curator who has placed the books as per genres ldquoIf you are my customer I will keep you in mind while selecting booksrdquo Teenage boys can be seen checking out anime books like ldquoDeathnoterdquo ldquoDemon Slayerrdquo ldquoJujitsu Kaisenrdquo etc In another alley a man can be seen hunting for selfhelp books He tells Midday that curation is an essential craft to ensure the ease of readersAccording to him there is no one particular genre that ranks at the top There are readers who seek knowledge for each genre He takes pride in his flamboyant and diverse collection of books While pulling out a few selected books to show us he adds ldquoThese books cannot be absorbed by ordinary readers The depth of these works can be fully understood by the scholarly and seasoned readers onlyrdquo The covers on those books read ldquoCosmos by Carl Saganrdquo ldquoProphet by Kahlil Gibranrdquo ldquoCrime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevskyrdquo which are some of his bestsellers till date His classic section is adorned with books that are centuries old Knowing the value of these books he keeps them stocked and never will his collection say ldquosold outrdquoLastly he adds ldquoThere is no better business than selling booksrdquo while admitting the lowprofit margins of the business He explains ldquoI will tell you why this is the best business Itrsquos because no ordinary person comes to my store Only beautiful minds do Readers are beautiful peoplerdquoAlso Read How this Mumbai bookseller found his calling on a footpath in Matunga