Pragati Book Centre

Budhwar Peth is a very busy area, especially with the Jegeshwari Mandir being right there. Our shop, Pragati Book Centre, is situated at Plot No- 152. It is a place filled with stacks of books that go all the way up to the ceiling in some corners. It has that specific smell of old paper and fresh ink that you only find in bookshops. On some days, the aisles get so crowded with people that it is hard to move around. We sell a variety of things, from the school textbooks that children need to various storybooks and religious texts. People often come in searching for something very specific for their exams, and I do my best to find it in the piles. It is a family business that has been here for years. My father was the one who started it, and now I spend most of my days here. We don't use any fancy computers to keep track of what we have. We just know where things are based on memory and which shelf they were put on last. The bells from the temple ring throughout the day, which is a sound we have grown very used to. It is a constant cycle of getting new stock in and selling books to the regulars who have been coming to us since they were kids. We just keep things moving and talk to whoever walks in.