Ishtam Books

Ishtam Books is tucked away inside the Gemini Parsn Complex on Kodambakkam High Road. If you know the Nungampakkam area, you probably know this building. Our shop is at number 1. It is a small space, mostly filled with wooden shelves that go all the way up to the ceiling. We have stacks of books on the floor too because we always seem to have more coming in than we have room for. There is a specific smell of old and new paper that hits you right when you walk in. We spend a lot of time sorting through different titles and helping people find something they might like to read. It is usually quiet inside, except for the hum of the old air conditioner and the traffic noise coming from the High Road outside. We do not really do big events or anything like that. It is just us and the books. Sometimes we lose track of where a specific copy is and have to spend ten minutes looking behind other stacks to find it. We get all kinds of people coming in, from young students to older folks who have been visiting this complex for decades. It is not a modern, glass-fronted bookstore. It is more of a cozy, slightly messy place where you can browse without someone hovering over you. We try to keep the lights bright enough to read the spines, but some corners stay a bit dark. It is a good place.