Trueman Book Company

We’ve been here at Building No.4353/4C on Ansari Road for a good while now. Daryaganj is always busy, especially right here near the Bank of India. Most mornings start with someone unlocking the heavy shutter and trying to organize the stacks that somehow got messy overnight. It is a lot of paper and ink, honestly. You walk in and it smells like old and new books mixed together. We spend most of the day answering the phone or checking lists. Sometimes the traffic outside is so loud we have to shout a bit to be heard. It isn't a fancy place. The walls could probably use a new coat of paint, but we get the work done. People know where to find us because of the bank nearby. We have these old desks that have been through a lot. There is always a thermos of tea somewhere. Sometimes the tea is cold before we get to it. We just keep track of the titles and make sure things go where they are supposed to go. It is a simple routine, really. You get used to the dust and the way the light hits the office in the afternoon. We don't have a big reception area or anything like that. Just us and the books and the narrow lanes of Daryaganj. It’s home for the business.