Mangla Book Shop & Communications

Down on Ansari Road in Darya Ganj, you can find our shop at N-16. Mangla Book Shop & Communications is a bit of a mix. We have stacks of books everywhere and also handle some mobile stuff. Darya Ganj is famous for books, especially on Sundays, but we are here through the whole week. The shop feels a bit cramped because we try to fit as many titles as possible on the shelves. Sometimes the stacks get a bit wobbly. We have everything from school textbooks to old novels that have been sitting there for years. The air always smells a bit like old paper and dust, which I’ve grown to like. People come in looking for a specific book for an exam, or sometimes they just want to pay a bill or get a SIM card. It’s a neighborhood spot where people stop to talk for a few minutes while we look for what they need. We don't have a computer system to track everything; we mostly just know where things are by memory. It’s a bit old-fashioned, but it works for us. My father started this and I just kept it going the same way. The street outside is always crowded with delivery carts and rickshaws, but inside it’s a bit calmer among the books. We just keep the doors open and see who comes in to browse the shelves or get things done.