As you explore the inner streets of old Parel, you are bound to come across some of the city’s biggest hospitals and medical institutes, such as KEM Hospital, Tata Memorial Centre, and Wadia Hospital. Naturally, the area is home to many shops selling medical instruments, natal care items, and medical books. Tucked in the bylanes of Acharya Donde Marg, opposite Wadia Hospital, Parel East, we stumble upon a 70-year-old bookshop that has been catering to doctors and students for three generations. 

Early chapters

National Book Depot of Parel was started on April 24 in 1955 at Rakhangi Mahal by Padamshibhai Saubhayachand Shah. The bookstore was in this address till 1991, after which they shifted to a shop in the same neighbourhood. As a result of its proximity to significant public health institutes, the 70-year-old space is a favourite among medical students, teachers, and doctors. It is run by the third generation of the Shah family, Vaidehi Shah, who, along with her father, 
Rajendra Shah, guide customers to buy the most relevant and suitable books for their specific needs. They act as suppliers, distributors, as well as publishers of medical books, as this writer notices while at the bookstore.