Mantu Book Stall

Mantu Book Stall sits at No. 22/1 Gariahat Road. If you know Gariahat, you know how loud and crowded it gets with the shoppers and the traffic. Our stall is packed tight with books of all kinds, from school texts to old novels that have turned yellow. There isn't a lot of room to move around inside, so we have to stack things very carefully so they don't fall over on anyone. The smell of old paper is very strong here, especially when it rains and the air gets damp. We spend a lot of time dusting the covers because the road outside kicks up so much dirt. People come by asking for all sorts of things, and usually, we can find it if we dig deep enough into the piles. We don't have a computerized system for the inventory; we just remember where most things are kept. Sometimes a student will stand in the corner reading for an hour, and we don't usually mind as long as they don't fold the pages. The light inside isn't the best, so we have a couple of bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling. It’s a busy life being on Gariahat Road, with the buses honking right outside the door, but we like being in the middle of all that energy and helping people find their next thing to read.