Kitab Khana!📚🤍

‘Kitab Khana’ is a local boutique bookshop in a historic building. It was established in 2010 at Somaiya Bhavan (a 150 years old monument). ‘Kitab Khana’ is a ‘heaven on earth’ for all the book lovers across Mumbai. It is a two-storey, fully air-conditioned structure containing numerous books in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Sanskrit and Marathi languages. Along with a bookshop, it has a coffee shop and also many events take place in ‘Kitab Khana’. This place has been on my list for a long time. My first visit to this bookstore was on 19th April, 2022. I got down on the Church-gate Railway Station and walked down the streets accommodated with veteran architected constructions. There are two ways to reach ‘Kitab Khana’: One through the Flora Fountain and another through the Bombay High Court. I decided to go through Bombay High Court. I witnessed Asiatic Library, Bank of India, High Court and many more monuments on my way. I was fully flattered seeing the heritages of Mumbai in that 7-8 minutes’ walk to Kitab Khana. I could see the panel of ‘Kitab Khana’ from across the street. When entering, the gatekeeper opened the door for me and gave a warm smile to welcome me. He gestured and asked me to place my bag in the storage section so that I can surf through the bookstore peacefully without any burden on my back. I looked around and was confused about where should I start from. Books were categorized on the basis of genres and languages. Films, music, art, fiction, non-fiction, Indian fiction, history, thriller, history, social science, business, management, design, architecture, preschool, popular science, birds, wildlife, graphic tools, art were few of the genres highlighted. I could see people serene fully exploring the books. Some were even reading books while sitting on the couches next to them. Heading to the first lane of books, I started exploring my most favorite genre i.e., mythology. I was captivated on seeing books about various mythological individuals. Let it be men or women. The book which caught my eyes was ‘Ahalya’ by Koral Dasgupta. I took the book and sat down on the comfy couch next to it. I was so fascinated that I decided to purchase that book. I was impressed to see that in spite of so much crowd, all the books were perfectly placed under their respective genres. None of books were lying to and fro. Moving ahead, I witnessed all the renowned as well as underrated books one could have asked for. At the end of the store, there was a Subko Mini Café established for readers to take a break in the mid of surfing books and it was already on my list to visit at the end. The next red wall I saw beside the café was the main attraction. That wall consisted of five different quotes in five different languages by five renowned writers. Ashtavakra Geeta in Sanskrit, Kabirdaas in Hindi, KJ Somaiya in Gujarati, Robert Frost in English and Leader in Urdu were the five writers and languages. As I knew Sanskrit, Hindi, Gujarati and English, I started to read the quotes. But I stopped as I didn’t know Urdu. A librarian saw my concern and he approached me. He explained the Urdu quote to me efficiently and asked me if I needed any other help. There were librarians in each lane for helping us out to find the books we want. I asked about where could I find books about yoga because I couldn’t find any on the ground floor. The librarian directed me to the first floor and said that the second lane on the first floor is full of books on different Yogasanas in both English and Hindi languages. I climbed the well-structured stairs and had a breathtaking view of ground floor with all the books perfectly arranged and people calmly having their time surfing through various books. First floor mainly consisted books in Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi languages whereas on ground floor, I could mostly find books in English language and only one lane of Hindi books. Coming to the first floor, I was mesmerized to observe their isolated collection of Hindi books. I found a large variety of mythological and historical books like the four Vedas, Bhagwad Geeta, Vishnu Puran, Shiv Puran, Buddha and what not. Surfing through all the books on first floor took me around one and a half hour which felt like a few minutes only. The place which caught my heart was a half square kind of space backed with books. I picked up one good book and sat in that corner for over 2 hours to read it. That corner was the most peaceful space I could have ever found in Kitab Khana. No interruptions, only reading with full heart for straight 2 hours. Nothing can be more wholesome than that. Time was hasty and I was hungry. So, it was the time to explore Subko Mini Café now. It had a small and quick menu which could be accessed easily by scanning a barcode which was placed at the counter as well as on all the tables. The menu ranged from hot and cold coffees to savory bakery dishes to cheesecakes and sandwiches. Latte, Mocha, Espresso, Cortado, Cappuccino and many others beverages were available. It was around late afternoon so I ordered a hot cappuccino and a classic croissant for snacking. After placing the order, I went to the bill counter to pay for the books I wished to purchase. They gave me a 10% discount on all books’ MRP which they provide to every customer. They put all the books in a pretty brown colored bag with ‘Kitab Khana’ printed on it. I went back in the cafeteria inside the bookstore. The ambience of the café was eye captivating. There was a pretty corner named ‘Dukaan’ in the cafeteria. I was curious to see what was there so I went near it. After reading I got to know that they even sell their raw coffee so that we enjoy café flavored coffee at our home also. My order came in a few minutes after that. The first sip of the cappuccino itself refreshed me. The croissant smelled so fresh and delicious. I can say that it was the fluffiest one I have ever had. My visit to Kitab Khana was a 10/10!