How a visit to Japan made this Mumbaikar start a comic book library in Versova

When Bidisha Basu travelled to Japan in 2007 to teach locals English, little did she know how much it would change her perspective on reading. The Mumbaikar would come back and start a library out of her Bandra home along with her roommate. It was the start of a journey that made them go from having members who could get books from them online to owning a cosy café that would house the books for more readers to access. "I was fascinated with Japanese culture at the time and when I went there to teach English, I came across manga cafes, where people could read manga and have a good time at the café, and really liked the idea," shares the Mumbaikar, who moved to Goa during the Covid-19 pandemic but frequents the city often.

Initially, Basu along with her roommate, Utsa Shome, who is now her husband, sourced books from all over and kept them in their home; people could get books by ordering them through a rudimentary website they had set up at the time and exchange them for another. Mumbai has a rich reading culture and that is evident from the many bookshops and bookstores that have mushroomed in the city over many decades and are frequented by many Mumbaikars regularly. Interestingly, there is a bubbling sub-culture of manga, anime and comic book readers that are very comfortable in their own community and Leaping Windows cafe and comic library is at the centre of it all because it is among the few that caters to these readers.

Converting a library into café
While they were happy engaging with readers from their home, the reading room happened by chance about over 10 years ago in Versova. Shome adds, "We had come for a book sale here and asked the landlord what he was planning to do with the place after the sale, and he didn't have an answer. So, we asked him if we could take over because we thought it would be a good idea to have a reading room." The rest is history. If the books have their magnetic pull, then the name of the café is even more a reason for people to drop by, and unsurprisingly is quite related to the experiences with comic books with a dash of adventure. "We named it ‘Leaping Windows' to depict how readers jump from one panel to another in a comic book. The other story is that Bidisha's friend's son once jumped from the balcony of their home, trying to fly by wearing a towel like a Superman cape, and the name stuck," he laughs, while necessarily informing us that the kid is safe, when it comes as an after-thought.

Just like the reading room, the café came along the way in 2012 for the Goa-based couple when they realised that they weren't making enough from the library membership. Being realistic, they decided to open the café in the space above the library to help them run it. "When we realised that it was difficult to run the library with the reading room alone, we decided to open the café to provide for it and help us continue to keep the space for comic book lovers," Shome adds.
The café, which is frequented by people of all ages, has delicious food on the menu and is often the first thing people notice. However, if one looks further, they will be directed and transported into a Harry Potter-like Room of Requirement in a dimly lit basement with over 2,500 colourful racks of manga, anime, graphic novels and comic books. Only disturbed by an occasional clink and clatter of cutlery, the room lets readers tuck themselves into a cosy space accompanied by cushions depicting Bleach, Naruto and Catwoman among others for an easily affordable Rs 50 per hour. Apart from being a space for readers to indulge in books, they also host events including book readings and standup comedy too.

Comic book readers and the Covid-19 pandemic
With such a dedicated space, more than 11 years later, the couple has seen quite a bit of interest develop in comic books compared to the pre-streaming platform era. Basu explains, "When we started reading when we were younger, we were exposed to some manga like Naruto and Doraemon already because of anime. While Marvel and DC were already pretty popular, they became more popular after the blockbuster movies started emerging as more people wanted to read the comic books."

Purists may say that's barely the tip of the iceberg because the universe is much more than the popular comics and rightly so, but Shome believes it's a start. "When fans come to read more about them, they also end up discovering and exploring other comic books and series like Death Note, Walking Dead among others, which they have seen online," he adds. The fact that independent series like Walking Dead, Preacher, Sin City also became famous through television shows and Kick Ass, which was made into a movie, says Shome, only gave the necessary push. Leaping Windows is unique but what makes it even better is that they have books from over 10 years ago or even ones that have gone out of print, that makes them a good archive and necessary treasure trove. They have also helped in busting the myth about how comic books are not only for children but also adult comic book readers in the process.

Living around comic books
The duo themselves are a proof of the thriving community that has mushroomed in the city over the years. In Kolkata, Basu grew up reading the likes of Asterix, TinTin, Indrajal comics, Richie Rich, the Fables series, Craig Thompson's Blankets and Habibi and Guy Delisle's works. "Now, I like Appupen's Halahala universe and Amruta Patil's Kari, mangas like Death Note and Dragonball, and I still read Asterix," she shares. It is no different for Shome, who mostly reads online but also makes time to read smaller strips over long format ones; their reading habits are quite similar with Craig Thompson, Fables and Indrajal along with comic strips in Target magazine that were quite popular in Kolkata. The fact that they have over 2,000 books in their Goa home says enough about their love for the books and their interest in keeping the library alive.

Even as they have enjoyed the buzz around comic books, one can't ignore how the Covid-19 pandemic managed to play spoilsport and they had to shut the cafe down. When things got back to normal, they did open the dining area but kept the reading room closed because it needed ventilation before being open for the public. It finally opened in late 2021. They are now seeing a steady stream of visitors, more on the weekends, make their way down the spiral stairs and get buried in a world of their own.

On our visit, one such visitor and reader turned out to be a Mumbaikar, who wishes to go by Manaki Senpai, his online name in the community. Being an active part of the anime groups in the city, he thoroughly enjoys browsing through the titles and boasts that he has pretty much read all of them. "I started watching anime when I was 13 years old and have also been reading it since then. I have come to the café at least five times now because this is the only place I know in the city that has anime, manga, graphic novels and more for comic book lovers," he shares.

Also Read: Here's how a community library at Mumbai's Govandi is fostering reading culture among children