A colleague told me about this bookshop on Nungambakkam High Road, called Landmark. I went there one evening in September 1993 and kept going back every other day. I haven't been able to stop, even after I shifted home to Trivandrum, Mumbai, Chennai again and now Bangalore. Landmark - the original one in Nungambakkam High Road - is my favorite book shop. At least it was till this Saturday, when I visited their new branch at The Forum, Bangalore.
To say I was bowled over would be an understatement. I was knocked down, I was flat on my back, I was dazed, I was delirious, I was drooling all over the place. I didn't bother much with the second floor, which had movies, music, furniture (furniture ??) and other knick-knacks. Spent a lot of time among the books, finally picked up Roger Ebert's The Great Movies and Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum (which I had given up on when I tried it last, several years ago). They had almost everything I look for in a bookstore. The usual pulp thrillers, the classy literature stuff, the comics, the magazines, the movie section, music, computers - the whole nine yards (which translates into 45,000 sq feet as per the metric system, or so I'm told).
Sindha wanted to buy a couple of toys for Rachu and I bought Rehman's Meenaxi, Alai Payuthe & Kandukondein Kandukondein. Was about to go to the billing counter when I saw a vcd of Once Upon A Time in the West, which I grabbed. Got 20% off on the bill by flashing my Citibank card and smooth-talking the guy at the counter.
I wanted to go there yesterday too, but dirty looks from the wife stopped me in my tracks. Can always sneak out from work though....
wow thats great news.... amgonna raid that place ..com march ;)
ReplyDeletehave u checked the place in spencers plaza, chennai...always wondered why they didnt open up in bangalore....
have u checked the place in spencers plaza, chennai
ReplyDeleteYes. I wasn't very impressed, frankly. It looked swanky and all that, but I thought their focus on books was diluted, what with the cds and tapes on the same floor. Here, books get a whole floor to themselves. The Blr one is bigger too, I think.
Coool!
ReplyDeleteBut I had told you once, you shouldn't have bought Foucault's Pendulum. New copies available here for about 80 Rs. Aaah, nevermind, that's just me cribbing about nothing.
I hope you got the Collector's edition of Meenaxi, it costs 199 and comes with 6 prints of Hussain's artwork.
So that gives me one more reason to visit Bangalore next month. Heh.
I hope you got the Collector's edition of Meenaxi
ReplyDeleteOf course !
yeah one more reason is right :)
ReplyDeleteWhere is The Forum?
ReplyDeleteIt's in Koramangala, next to Globus, opposite Raheja. Can't miss it - it's huge! There is a multiplex coming up on the other side too.
ReplyDeleteWhile at college in MAdras, I've spent quite a bit of time at the Landmark on Nungambakkam, marking and hiding books that I wanted. I had to wait till my dad's visit to buy them. He'd then enter it into his library system and examine the books page by page when i brought them hom for holidays, for signs of dog ears, not using a book mark etc.
ReplyDeleteThough there are Crosswords and Oxford book stores in plenty in Bombay, one larger than the other, none unforunately as endearing as Landmark.
Though there are Crosswords and Oxford book stores in plenty in Bombay, one larger than the other, none unforunately as endearing as Landmark.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly.
landmark rocks! I used to love the place in Nungambakkam. THis place at the Forum is fantabulous. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in Kolkata for a long time last year and had time to kill, which was not often, I managed to walk across to The Landmark and was amazed by the store or the breadth of it.
ReplyDeleteAs you said..quite a few rare ones..The one I spotted was this Rough Guide to Rock. I had been hunting high and low for the book. The book was SO dog eared that I didn't have the heart to own it. When I mentioned this..the guy at te counter offered a discount but I was still not game. He said if ou could give me ten days I'll try to get a new version. Well I haven't been to Cal for a while but I am going there when I go next month.
Another well laid out store is the Crossword at Baroda, though Mumbai packs in more albeit in a crazy manner.
Pray that they open up in Mumbai too!
please tell me they have lego sets in their toy store
ReplyDeleteSomehow...I didn't see this post before. Gawd knows.
ReplyDeleteHeh heh. I didn't check, to be honest. Their toy store isn't anything great, just that it was a convenient place to pick up something after browsing books.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you weren't logged in earlier and you are now ? This is a friends-only post.
ReplyDeleteNo, I was logged in. Maybe I missed it after all. What else could it be?!
ReplyDeleteWhat's the latest book count?
ReplyDeleteDon't ask ! I think I'm buying 'em faster than I read 'em.
ReplyDeletelol, I think I read some where that buying a book is the best way not to read them :-))
ReplyDeleteI have a problem... I have landed in great libraries, book-shops with relatively lesser constraints on my wallet and not known what to pick... unless I've been recommended some stuff, of course...
ReplyDeleteWhen I go all out on a limb and pick up books purely on a gut feel... I land up with books I am totally unable to finish...
P.S. I am talking about fiction ONLY.
The last book I bought(I think?) was from a nice bookshop in Thrissur... titled 'The Electronic Elephant'.. The brief outline given at the back of the book looked promising... but I couldn't even complete it..:(
btw, if you're looking for good tapes, 'Kannathil Muthamittal' is a good buy too... and a great film also.
You bet! I love hoarding books, I think... Have got millions(exaggerated, obviously!) of books I've bought.. with no idea of completing them!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip. I do have the cd of Kannathil.
ReplyDeleteForgot to mention another marvellous OST... Great Expectations. The film was strictly okay though I loved the camerawork.
ReplyDeleteTori Amos, Duncan Sheikh and some other artists I don't recall.. A great buy!
Now that I've begun, I'd also recommend 'Pretty Woman' and 'I know what you did last summer'...
:)
Makes me wonder what your original post was all about!
The song "chinnamma chilakkamma" from Meenaxi (sounds like Taxi.. ;) ) is awesome ! I totally dig the telugu lyrics in the song !
ReplyDeleteGreat going Rehman ! yooohooo!
Hmmm.. they allow their books to be dog-eared too? that's pretty unsual.. or is it?!!
ReplyDeleteI did hear from someone else too, about Great Expectations being a good OST. Will check it out sometime. I liked the Pretty Woman soundtrack, but didn't know that I Know.. was good too. The movie sucked big time anyway !
ReplyDeleteThe Crosswords and Oxfords of this world apparently think that books are not essential for a bookstore.
ReplyDeleteThis is just a financial doubt. Do best sellers translate the $ price into Rs or do they come cheaper in India.(this is a real doubt)
ReplyDelete-a kanjoose makhichoose book junkie
It varies depending on the publisher, I think. I've seen some books which are priced converting the $ amount into Rs directly. However, most others are discounted. A $12 book might be available for Rs 250 or thereabouts. Perhaps the mass market paperbacks are discounted and the slow moving literature/coffee table variety is not.
ReplyDeleteIn general, I think it's safe to assume that books are cheaper in India.
Having had a glimpse of it along with you, I don't disagree. :-)
ReplyDelete