From Lokhandwala shootouts to 26/11 Colaba attack, this Mumbai bookseller has seen it all

In 1969, Rudramani Biradar arrived in Mumbai to sell books for a living. In his profound experience as a bookseller, he withstood the shootouts at Lokhandwala, survived the 26/11 attacks, saw the downfall of Colaba and lived through the changing cityscape of Mumbai.

Currently, he runs a bookshop called ‘Book Lovers' in Lokhandwala complex and is fondly referred to as ‘Mani'.

Hailing from a small village in Karnataka, he lost his father at a young age. His aunt brought him to Colaba and hired him to work at her store called ‘Shankar Book Stall'. He began his journey to sell books while never really knowing how to read one. Reminiscing the bygone days, he sighs: "Colaba used to be way better back then. We used to have chawl systems and more open skies to daydream to. Now, Colaba is a rapidly growing jungle of corporate offices and apartments." Back then, his abode was never fixed. At times he slept in a chawl, other times it was a mattress at a railway guest house, or a PG that cost him Rs. 35 a month.

World's Best Book Store in Colaba
Mani had a real flair to run a bookstore. He had byhearted the titles of each book along with their selling prices. Aunt's shop used to be a mess with the disorderly placement of books. He observed the fallacies and placed the books as per their genres. To keep the readers intrigued, he also rotated the books in the display with new launches.

Back in the 70s, Colaba used to witness a higher footfall of tourists and people from the aviation industry. Those delegates used to stay at the Taj Mahal Palace around the year and come to Mani's bookshop to fulfil their reading needs. "I was catering to fifteen airlines including British, South African, Singaporean, and European. They all had my visiting cards and gave my shop a preference over the rest. Earlier, books in India used to be cheaper and tax free as opposed to the expensive ones sold abroad. In the limited space of 12 by 2 ft., we offered the best of literature and the best of writers at the best prices. They used to call us the World's Best Book Shop!" said Mani, filled with joy.

A few years later, he ran another branch of the same bookstore at Linking Road, Bandra. It was here, that he served the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Poonam Dhillon, Mahesh Bhatt, Anupam Kher, Sunil Dutt, and many more from the film industry.

1991 Lokhandwala Complex Shootout
After working for his aunt in Colaba and Bandra, it was time for Mani to launch his very own bookshop. Back in 1991, Lokhandwala was quickly losing its market value. Retail shop owners were selling their property as business was not value accretive.

In the early 90s, Lokhandwala's popularity was negative owing to the recent acts of crime. India's first daylight encounter had taken place between gangsters and Bombay Police on 16 November 1991. Seven gangmen led by Maya Dolas (one of the prominent lieutenants of Dawood Ibrahim) were decimated by the Anti-Terrorism Squad headed by A.A. Khan. This led to fear amongst locals who began relocating for safety issues.

Mani noted the contact on the billboard and went back home to plan his next move. Amidst the rising fear and depleting confidence in Lokhandwala, he called up the owner and bought the same shop a week later. Thus began the journey of his first bookshop in 1992.

While he was setting up his shop, his publisher (name not disclosed at Mani's request) reached out for a meeting. Mani was excited to show him his newly bought store and invited him over. Upon arrival, the publisher asked, "Tum kya kar rahe ho idhar? Yaha bookshop nahi chalega, yaha bandook chalta hai." His publisher advised him to give up the shop as there was no scope of business in the area with a history of crime. Mani listened to him carefully with a grim expression. His conviction was not shaken by the discouraging words.

A man of grit, he responded, "This spot in Lokhandwala will be a testament to my vision. Whoever will enter my store, will forget guns and turn to books." As the years went by, his business began to settle. One fine afternoon, a young woman in her mid-20s entered the store with a revolver in her hand. Mani described her to be a fair and tall woman of a good physique. As she came in, she dropped the revolver on his table and asked, "Give me one set of Jeffrey Archer and Sidney Sheldon." He looked at her revolver and was taken aback by her enigmatic presence. Mani obeyed hurriedly and pulled out the books she requested. He recalls placing the bill on the same table where the revolver was kept.

This was a life-changing incident for Mani which made him believe in the power of books. From that moment, he has been on a mission to spread the habit of reading till there are no more guns. And, since then, there has been no looking back.

26/11 attacks at The Taj Mahal Hotel
"The 26/11 attacks completely ruined Colaba." For a while in 2008, Mani drifted to side gigs at Colaba while his wife handled their store at Lokhandwala. He recollects: "On the eve of 26/11, I was coming back from Shiv Sagar when I spotted around 18 customers next to my store. The clock struck 9:30 pm when I asked my help boy: Was there a cricket match today? Why the chaos? Before he could answer, I saw more people running frantically on the road. The whole road was full of people and goods that fell off from the shops". Amidst the chaos, Mani heard someone scream: "Guns are being fired inside the airport."

Mani continues, "I couldn't grasp the situation and ran in a frenzy towards the Regal cinema. When I reached there, I heard loud shots being fired inside the Taj hotel. A week ago, I had read about it in the newspaper that terrorists are going to attack schools, colleges, and other crowded places. That's how it struck me that this is a terrorist attack."

"Due to mass hysteria, no taxi drivers were ready to take rides. I wanted to rush back home so I called a taxi to drop me at Churchgate station. I took my help boy along with me. On my way back home, I started getting calls from my friends inquiring about the attacks. Within minutes, the whole of Mumbai was under attacks at multiple points including Colaba, Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Nariman Point, Leopold Café, Taj and what not. So many people died: A South African captain inside Leopold Café, a 70-year-old couple, someone's daughter, someone's son, approximately 170 people! Colaba was shut for the next five days. It got over in front of my eyes. The markets never rose back to previous levels and it has never been the same since then."

Mani discontinued working at the stall next to Colaba metro station. He took no side gigs and got back to work at his own store in Lokhandwala.

Nomenclature of Mani's bookshop
Before his bookshop was even functional, Mani knew he would call it "Book Lovers". In an attempt to answer himself, he asks "Who is a true book lover?"

A memory flashes before his eyes, as he recollects his yesteryears from Colaba. "Since I wasn't a well-read kid, I used to be very fond of reading magazines. If there were no customers in the shop, I would pick a corner and immerse myself into the glossy pages. The shining images filled me up with ecstasy and made everything seem larger than life. Once while flipping through those pages, I saw an image that struck me. It was a picture of a young boy reading a book while sitting on his potty. I was baffled by the imagery. I stared at it for a while and immediately fell in love with it. At that moment I knew who a true book lover is."

One turns into a book lover when they instill the habit of reading from childhood. The temperament to read takes shape when our minds are credulous. According to Mani, one cannot develop the habit of reading once they have matured. "When one hits 30+, their focus breaks as they get occupied with other pursuits in life."

Mani named his bookshop after the boy's striking image. He believes that the habit of reading can open up one's mind to wide possibilities. Consequently, he wants to create more book lovers in this world. He goes on to add, "Reading has the potential to unravel magic in our minds and take us places we can't be physically at."

"Readers are beautiful people"
Today, Mani's bookshop is buzzing with Christmas celebrations. He has put a special Christmas sale on books to attract readers. At any point of time, his store looks lively with people of all age groups, from young kids to adults. Mani is an expert curator who has placed the books as per genres. "If you are my customer, I will keep you in mind while selecting books." Teenage boys can be seen checking out anime books like "Deathnote", "Demon Slayer", "Jujitsu Kaisen", etc. In another alley, a man can be seen hunting for self-help books. He tells Midday that curation is an essential craft to ensure the ease of readers.

According to him, there is no one particular genre that ranks at the top. There are readers who seek knowledge for each genre. He takes pride in his flamboyant and diverse collection of books. While pulling out a few selected books to show us, he adds, "These books cannot be absorbed by ordinary readers. The depth of these works can be fully understood by the scholarly and seasoned readers only." The covers on those books read "Cosmos by Carl Sagan", "Prophet by Kahlil Gibran" "Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky" which are some of his bestsellers till date. His classic section is adorned with books that are centuries old. Knowing the value of these books, he keeps them stocked and never will his collection say "sold out".

Lastly, he adds "There is no better business than selling books" while admitting the low-profit margins of the business. He explains, "I will tell you why this is the best business. It's because no ordinary person comes to my store. Only beautiful minds do. Readers are beautiful people."

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