Spell of the printed word: Mumbai’s bookstores

Mumbai is a wizard at casting spells and holding its populace captive with its esoteric charm and excitatory appeal. Adding to which is the allure of the city’s precious reservoirs of books that holds all booklovers in thrall.

Walk into any one (Bandra or Andheri) of Crossword’s spacious outlets and you almost feel like a kid let loose in a candy store! Rows of neatly arranged titles—fiction, non-fiction and poetry, to bestsellers and biographies—vie for your attention. A carefully-selected section, “Crossword Recommends” is a bonus. Add to it a cosy ambience and a happening literary calendar in terms of book launches and other book events, and you need no excuse to get yourself permanently hooked to this store.

Giving Crossword stiff competition is Oxford Bookstore at Churchgate. An enviable collection of over 50,000 titles in every genre keeps the discerning booklovers sated. And if it’s glossy covers you are scouting for, Oxford won’t disappoint you either. Like Crossword this too is abuzz with book launches, readings and other events. A feather in the cap is the store’s Cha Bar , offering more than sixty types of tea from around the world. Lounge with a favourite book, punctuate it with nibbles and sips of your choice and quietly watch the world go by.

If you are a cash-strapped bibliophile or revel in the brittle pages of a second-hand book, Strand Book Stall at Fort is your ticket. Strand is not just a bookshop: it’s more of an institution for Mumbai’s booklovers. Holding ground for more than half a century, this place gives you the best titles at enticing rates.

Bang opposite to Jehangir Art Gallery is Chetana Book Centre, dealers of rare books in religion, arts, culture, philosophy, health, and alternative medicine. If all that browsing makes you hungry, just hop into the adjoining Chetana Veg Restaurant for its "eat-all-you-can" Rajasthani and Gujarati veg thalis.

Other stores that will keep you duly hooked as well are Granth (Goregaon West, Santacruz West), Books-n-All (Tardeo Road), Sagar Book Centre (Dahisar East), Bright Book Centre (Dadar West, near D'Silva High School), Book Lovers (Andheri West), Victoria Book Centre & Circulating Library (Mahim, near Sitladevi Temple), Magna Book Gallery (Worli) and Janta Book Centre (Khar, opposite Syndicate Bank).

Head to any of these stores, pick up a cover of your choice and slip into a different realm altogether. Happy reading!