Chembur bookshop owner moves online to keep father’s legacy alive

Vivek Pandey grew up around his father's business of selling books, which he took up after being forced to switch jobs. "My father worked in the mills and during that time, he loved reading. So, when the hartal took place and he didn't have a job, he decided to open a bookstall." In the mid-80s, they started selling books they scoured from raddiwallas in the city near Flora Fountain (South Mumbai), but unfortunately, the infamous 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts (of which one of the locations being near there), they were not allowed to sit anymore. While they did not know what to do initially, they started going to book fairs in Bengaluru, Guwahati and Hyderabad, which actually connected them with a lot of people and that's when it took off for them.

After that, the 46-year-old's father decided to put up a stall at Santacruz (East). Pandey had already actively started helping him at the stall since he was a child, and had to take over completely after his father got unwell. He explains, "My father opened a small library and roadside bookstall in Santacruz (East) and that introduced the world of books to us." After seeing considerable success in the suburbs, they started a bookshop in Chembur in 2010. While they have moved many places, the bookshop, which is now in a quaint bungalow called Parijat, boasts of 5,000 - 10,000 books, which he sees to it never goes to the scrapyard. This he did, so that he could continue the legacy of the business through the book stall and library called 'Dadication Books Zone'. Don't be fooled by the spelling of the book because Pandey insists on keeping it that way. He explains, "The bookshop is named 'Dadication Books Zone' because the stall was started by my father."
"My father was a poet and loved reading Hindi literature. We had printed the first book of poems called ‘Kahin Ek Apna Bhi Ghar Ho' and his friends put together his other book of poems called ‘Jaari Hai Sangharsh' before he passed away," Pandey mentioned.

Covid-19 pandemic-induced boost to business
While he has been taking the books to fairs around the country and even received accolades for over two decades, the pandemic decided to play spoilsport.

Interestingly, Pandey's daughter Sanjana, seems to have taken a liking to helping her father.

"We used to accompany my grandfather since we were children to the Kavi Sammelan (gathering of poets) and even visited my father's stall in Santacruz very often. While I am not a reader myself, we have seen my grandfather do it and then my dad, and since we moved around a lot, we used to get books in the house before the furniture," she chuckles.

The 20-year-old is his second daughter, among four children, who has just finished her bachelor's degree and has been actively involved in attracting eyeballs to the business through the online medium.

He explains, "The pandemic was difficult for us but the internet helped us during this time. Swapbook's Pravin Subramanian, and Mansi Shetty, added us to a WhatsApp group, where we could display our books and then courier them to people."

With the instant-messaging app having limitations on number of people that can be added to the group, Pandey's sense of adaptability made him switch to Telegram very soon and now they have more than 1,000 people in their group. They host weekly or weekend book fairs for people, who can purchase the books at reduced prices online and business is booming. "Our books are going to places as far as Shillong, Guwahati, Kolkata and even places in Kerala that we never thought we would ever reach. While it is easier to get books in the metro cities, many books don't reach the smaller cities and when they get the books, they are very happy." The latter, he says, has happened due to word-of-mouth and he couldn't be happier.

While Wimpy Kids and Geronimo Stilton apart from literature books are still popular, the fact that people's reading habits have changed as they immerse themselves in business and motivational books is slowly being understood. In fact, Pandey boasts of being connected to only serious readers, and as far as the ratio is concerned, he says there are more girls looking for books than boys.

Technology is the future
While WhatsApp and Telegram have helped, his daughters started an Instagram account, where they post about the books and even make reels, which is a trend right now. These reels are not only of the books but also of Pandey going about his daily work of packing the books. Among them both, his daughter handles the Instagram account, and helps him with managing their Telegram account. Pandey is happy because he believes adaptability is necessary and if one doesn't do that, they will simply not survive. It was something he did in the 90s by taking ‘Dadication Books Zone' out of the city and into the world. These very interactions and getting people what they want is what makes this legacy that not only him but his daughter wants to continue.

While Pandey is busy on the weekends with book fairs, he spends his week sorting out the books, sending pictures or even videos of the books they like so that they can view and purchase them properly. He starts his day by packing the books and then goes about looking for the books post-lunch. Pandey shares, "When customers are looking for a book and it is difficult for them to get, when we look for those books for them and send it to them, the happiness on their face is what we like seeing. The fact that there is no end to books and nobody can say they have read every book is what motivates me."

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