If you'd like to pour your free time over graphic novels with a steaming cuppa and exchange notes with fellow comic enthusiasts in a common space, newly opened library, Leaping Windows in Versova goes the extra mile for this lucky comic book buff
After building their clientele online for two years, three Mumbai-based friends, Bidisha Basu, Utsah Shome (who are married now) and Koel Chatterjee decided to make their passion of comic reading more tangible and the result was an inviting space in Versova with the same name that they used for their e-library.u00a0“This was the original plan, we wanted our own place, but it’s too expensive. However, after being online for a year and a half, we met a lot of people, who had faith in the product in the sense that we knew that people
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Tokyo drift
“We were inspired by the Manga cafes in Japan, which are not entirely like this but similar. Typically, these spaces look like cyber cafes and in terms of food, they don’t have too much, they offer packaged food and beverages. How we are similar to these Japanese counterparts is that people drop by, read and pay by the hour,” she adds.u00a0Leaping Windows is hard to miss with its prominent location right at the corner of a street, off Yari Road. Once we entered, we were pleasantly surprised to find a café in the premises as well. That gives one an option of devouring quick bites while engrossed in his/her favourite comics. However, the owners are very clear that they don’t want the place to be just another coffee shop. “The café is attached to it but we are all about comics, at the end of the day, so it wouldn’t have made any point if people were dropping by for a bite but skipped exploring the reading section,” reasons Bidisha.
Frame after another
After a quick dekko of the café, we went to the basement to check out what we were there for. Once down, we found ourselves in the midst of a plethora of comics. From The Walking Dead series to Amar Chitra Katha, you name it and they have it. It was a pleasing site to see three kids happily reading their books, not bothered about what’s going around.u00a0The library area, with low seating, cane mats and a no network zone (Well, most of them might like this, simply because there is no scope for distraction) enables you to find your own cosy corner, to curl up with the title of your choice for hours.
Not just this, Leaping Windows, also has an alfresco section, lined by plants and dotted with cane chairs and tables. This would be a perfect spot to loose yourself with a comic book on a rainy afternoon.
At: Leaping Windows, 3 Corner View, off Yari Road, Versova, Andheri (W).
Call:9769998972
Log on to: www.leapingwindows.com
Cost: Rs 30 per hour and Rs 500 for a monthu00a0