manneys memories

Reading an eloquent blog post from JR is how I find out that one of the defining bookstores of my life in Pune is closing down. After all these years of standing strong while chains sprung up around it. While Adidas stomped over Naaz. While Planet M came, conquered and collapsed. While Landmark appeared and crossed the street. While Crosswords sprouted and withered across the city. I am sure more happened, but all this is what I remember from my visits back to the city. The distance made a regular yet infrequent relationship with Manneys even more thin-strung.

The last time I was there (a few months ago), I still enjoyed browsing the sections generous in their selection; I am sure I would have found some gems in stacks of the discounted books. I had, however, found succour in the marvellous library sales here in the US and there was no way any bookstore back home was going to beat a box of hardbacks for $10. I still enjoyed digging through the large section devoted to Indian fiction in the English language, only because this was one of the few bookstores that did not think Shobha Dé defined the section. I still enjoyed browsing through the offerings in the entertainment section. I didn't have to reach up or squat anymore. I had grown taller over the years. The shelves also did not have as much dust as memory told me they did years ago. This was the store that I had bought my cherished copy of Hitchcock, the collection of interviews of the master by Francois Truffaut. A gift coupon (won either in a competition of some kind or in one of the games of general proficiency in school) helped, because it was an imported edition (no Eastern Economy Edition for such things).

Jaunts to various raddii stores also yielded gems of different kinds, but Manneys was one the places that I liked going if I wanted a fresh edition and not a used book.

Things have changed so much since then. Flipkart has started changing the way things work and I had found myself using Flipkart more during my last visit and refraining from buying things on impulse from Manneys (or from Crossword or Landmark, for that matter, except for a few items languishing unfairly in on a discount table). All the other chains got my attention only for the music and the movies. With the kind of product that companies like Moser Baer and the like are churning out, however, it seems more prudent and unfortunate to go seek uploaded rips and spend the money at special film festivals or second-run theatres.

But I digress.

With Manneys shutting down, we are left with just a few bastions of yore. The International Book Service near Sambhaji Bridge is one of them. Once again, it's all about the memories. For a generation that is more used to the chains and the air-conditioned inclusion of toys, music, movies and a host of other things that really have nothing to do with books, neither Manneys nor TIBS will have much to offer. The bibliophile, on the other hand, will once again find out what it means to be in a minority. You might just find yourself joining the crowd.

Thank you Mr. Mani for something that was an important part of growing up in Pune.

another Pune constant, and a few annoyances

[January 09, 2005]

You know the big block housing a Dorabjee and Sons shop/mall entrance at the bottom and a Planet M on top. You know where the old Venkys used to be. You know Dastur Meher Road, the road that these two monuments flank. Start walking down Dastur Meher Road all the way until you get to Technical Book Stall. All about you are vestiges of an older Pune. And don't let this worry you a bit. A few footfalls ahead of TBS, to your left, is the old original Dorabjee and Sons, famous for its biryani. Aside from a few interior renovations, the place remains, like Burger King, untouched by most of the "progress" the city has seen. The waiter was very courteous, the chicken biryani was slightly oilier, and the special for the day (patra fish) was overpriced. The no-frills custard, however, made all the amends. Given the rising prices everywhere else in the city, this place might soon feature in a "Cheap Eats" column (another recent favourite, Radhika at the S B Road chowpatti, was recently featured in a local rag). Here's hoping it survives the erosion of progress.

To tail-end a post like this with annoyances seems unfair. Yet, the culprits in question are located in the vicinity. Music World, the more guilty party, should be taken to court for obscene levels of ambient music in the store (somehow, this makes the Café Coffee Day appendage a perfect fit). Planet M suffers from the same problem, but the sound levels are a bit lower. And I can never figure out what the dude/dudette on the pathetic PA system is trying to say -- it's ok to be cool, but that doesn't excuse the complete lack of lucidity. It was also interesting to read an article in the day's rag about how chains like these missed out on customer relations. Unfortunately, I can only see homogeneous vacuous monoliths like these (with unfamiliar, clueless, only-in-it-for-the-money store attendants) surviving the wave of progress. Your friendly neighbourhood music stores (Audio Palace, Empire Music House, Thakkar's Music Bank, Alurkar Music House) will either die fighting for the cause of the sensible customer, or sacrifice their ideals at the altar of commerce.

a literary family experience, fate and music, and how a burger remains part of the cornerstone of a dying city experience

So Saturday, 08 January 2005 dawns on the family, and we're all ready and out at the bus stop. It's a holiday for all, and we've decided to take a trip to the Deccan Gymkhana side of town. First miracle: Bus #96 shows up, albeit at the next terminal in the bus stand. Second miracle: we get to Deccan Corner in reasonable time. First stop: The International Book Service, one of a very small dying breed of bookstores in this "cultural" city. There aren't too many changes inside, although a familiar mix of feelings hits me: the place seems to have more room (which means that there are fewer books), and there aren't as many people as I'd like to see. That the place is celebrating 75 years deserves more than a few articles in local dailies. On the plus side, it's a pleasure to see a wider variety of books on the shelves. And Mr Dixit recognises Dad, and even recognises me. As I make my selections from the shelf, I think of my favourite quip about the rash of Crosswords across the city -- a quip that (apparently) was used by the owner of The Strand in Bombay when asked about the first Crossword set up there ("I have heard that they also sell books"). Unfortunately, at the end of the shopping session, there are still a few books unaccounted for. But the responses to my queries were more educated -- they had heard of the books, and even told if the books could be expected in a later import of stock. Places like this deserve more from all the Puneites who are patrons of good reading. And raddi stores, of course (given that the lack of taste exhibited by the publishing industry has forced so many meritorious works to go out of print and stock). And I hope places like Crossword don't become the first choice when you want to get some books.

A walk through Hong Kong Lane, another aspect of local heritage, rewarded me (via a chance glance) with the sight of a new soundtrack tape. Black jacket. With the words "Black Friday" leaping out at me in white. And I almost slapped myself for forgetting about this ("Indian Ocean performs the soundtrack of Black Friday"). There's a promo running on MTV. And it looks like Anurag Kashyap will *finally* make his directorial début officially (you can't live with the responsibility of having made "the most widely seen unreleased movie in India"!). A visit to Thakkar's Music Bank a block away rewarded me with a twin RD soundtrack release from BMG Crescendo (damn! It's such an effort to get stuff like this), and a note that the CD for Black Friday would be available in the evening.

It was nice to mix my first visit to Kamat's (a place I only knew as one of "Demolition Man" Bhatia's victims) and a desire to have some local paav bhaajii.

Plans to pay a visit to Sambhaji Park went to dust when we discovered that even the city park had begun to enjoy a lunch break ... "ba.ndh aahe" said the watchman complementing a cheap "Park is closed" sign nearby. Great! You would think that the afternoon would be a nice place to sit in the park (if you didn't have anything else to do -- like working a high-stress white-collar job for earning ephemeral rupaiyaa). So much for that.

A short break home, and we were back out at the bus stop. A different bus this time, and the destination was the crowded inaccessible West End bus station (narrow road subjected to divider action, along with illegal rows of rickshaws reducing driving space to a mathematical impossibility). The first destination was Manney's. Another place that hadn't changed (and there were good indications that this place was doing much better than IBS -- and it deserved to do well, IMHO, thanks to its good selection). On a very territorial note, it was nice to see more Malayalis managing the place (even the cashiers are Malayalis and Mr Nair has a new helper, Bhaskar). This doesn't mean that I get special discounts after spouting Malayalam and behaving regionally. It's just a little rarity. The people were helpful (as is the case with good bookstores), and my hit rate was higher too. Walked out with more plastic losses (even with the $-rupee conversion) to pay a short visit to Planet M. First mini-stop: the new releases display. Yippee! Waiting for me was the CD of Black Friday. Did a mental mini-dance, and then proceeded to indulge in another exercise to prove that the floor assistants were just human mannequins and the best way to search for music in the store was shelf-by-shelf-do-it-yourself. No other hits this time. Alas! Damn music companies, and especially damn the ones that had some favourite albums and went out of business (Archies Music, Plus Music, Magnasound -- some of their catalogue has since resurfaced on Bayshore Records).

The final stop: Burger King, the most unchanged place I've seen in Pune this time around. The same ambience, the same 4 Beatles posters, 1 Dylan poster, 1 Elvis poster. The same hubbub. The same prices! And a jumbo chicken burger that still rocks. A burp of satisfaction was followed by excellent timing involving the bus home at the traffic light below. This was one of the newer models that was equipped with a very useful[sic] feature: a radio/speaker system blasting radio mirchi feeds. A few minutes into the Death-Race ride home, the speakers began streaming a band singing a song called "ba.nde". The band was clearly Indian Ocean. And even before the DJ announced it, I was doing another mental jig. Talk about extended perfect timing. I remember the soundtrack, I manage to get it, and then I hear the radio promo for it. That's way I like it. Uh-huh, uh-huh!