Mumbai's 56-year-old bookstore in Vile Parle houses over 1 lakh books

Little did the Gada family know that their pursuit of livelihood in Mumbai would lead them to run a successful book stall in Vile Parle one of the cityrsquos prime locations for 56 long yearsldquoMy brother and I came to Mumbai to earn a living There was no specific reason behind starting a bookstall It was easy to set up this kind of business as it required minimum investmentrdquo says Manilal Gada who has been helming the Pethani Book Centre along with his 37yearold son Kunal GadaJust like other commuters who must have spotted the Pethani Book Centre while looking for an auto outside the station the writer too happened to pause and check out the store before heading to her destinationThere is something for everyone hereSince its inception the Pethani Book Centre has been housing all kinds of books ndash academic books classic novels secondhand magazines nonfiction books childrenrsquos books as well as newly launched novelsStacks of books are placed at the store which makes one wonder about the number of books available here Gada laughs and says ldquoItrsquos hard to keep an exact count but Irsquom sure of the fact that we have a collection of over a lakh booksrdquoAt the Pethani Book Centre books are sold at as low as Rs 20 and go up to Rs 500 or more depending on the book His son Kunal says ldquoWe try to offer books at the lowest price possible to pull more and more customersrdquoWhile books by popular authors like Jeffery Archer Sidney Sheldon Dan Brown J K Rowling and Agatha Christie are evergreen and continue to enjoy popularity Kunal says ldquoOur young generation also enjoys reading Indian authors like Chetan Bhagat Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Amish Tripathi and Sudha MurtyrdquoThough the bookstore does make a sale of all kinds of books as per Kunalrsquos observation the demand for fiction and nonfiction books is high among the youngIn yet another interesting observation Gada says ldquo70 per cent of our customers are women They love reading books We have women customers reading a mix of romance thriller finance and mythologyrdquo The bookstore has also had celebrities like Rati Agnihotri a former Indian actress visit the store regularly Besides celebrities the store has also been serving reputed professionals like lawyers architects and doctors On being asked about the younger generationrsquos reading habits Gada reflects ldquoThe young generation does have an interest in reading but not that much I personally believe a childrsquos inclination towards reading largely depends on their parents If parents enjoy reading and are avid readers their children will by default develop a penchant for reading We have a third generation of our old customers coming to buy books It is because they have seen their elders reading and thus pick up the same habitrdquoGada and his wife too are avid readers who enjoy reading Gujarati literature and newspapers This has led both their sons to develop an interest towards readingChallenges the bookstore facesAccording to Gada as compared to the old days when the only form of entertainment was books and newspapers the number of readers were high Even during the initial stages of television and radio people sought to read to relax their minds Today the scenario has changed massively ldquoWith OTT and social media children can hardly manage to look out of their screensrdquo laments this bookstore ownerAdding to this Kunal says ldquoTo a certain extent we also face competition from ebooks like Kindle Amazon has also started selling books at lower prices nowrdquoKunal adds ldquoYet a large number of people still prefer buying hard copies instead of using ebooks and many also prefer buying secondhand books instead of buying new ones online Customers find it more convenient to visit the store and check the copy before making a purchaserdquoOther than this the fatherson duo deny facing any challengesDuring the Covid19 lockdown the store faced hardships like other businesses did However after the lockdown was relaxed the Gada family bounced back by making a few sales ldquoThe business picked up again gradually and is now functioning as it did before the pandemicrdquo says a relieved KunalThe secret behind the storersquos successWhile most bookstores and stalls in several parts of Mumbai are struggling to earn a profit Pethani Book Centre is one of the few that seems to be flourishing What possibly can be working for this fatherson duoKunal says ldquoVile Parle is an educational hub We have colleges like NMIMS and SVKMrsquos Mithibai close to our bookstore This is a huge benefit for us The storersquos proximity to these colleges helps us in attracting all college studentsrdquoFurther Gada says ldquoWe have been here for the past 56 years Our legacy also works in our best interest Our old customers help us build new customersrdquoOn being asked why bookstores face critical challenges Gada opines ldquoLocation where you sell your books matters Besides we are a onestop shop for all kinds of books Customers can find novels academic books childrenrsquos story books magazines all under one roof Sab kuch saath mai rakhenge toh hee business chalega na Jaisa grocery store mai apne ko sab milta hai vaisa hee iss bookstore mai bhi sab types ke books milte hairdquo If we offer customers everything under one roof the business will earn more profits It is like a grocery store where everything related to food is easily availableThis business strategy of Gadarsquos seems to be working well for him as his bookstore sees customers come with varied requirements and return satisfied In a day the bookstore receives around 150200 customers who definitely purchase at least one bookWith options that donrsquot seem to end at Pethani Book Centre you are sure to get spoiled for choice What makes the store a mustvisit is the ease of spotting it It is located right outside the railway station at Vile Parle westAddress 6 Sangam Arcade VP Road Opposite Railway Station Vile Parle W Mumbai 400056For more details you can call 9819612377 9833241943