How did Asiatic Library’s fortnight-long sale end in just four hours?

People came in as early as 8:30 am on the day and the line had extended to the bus stop outside and they didn’t mind standing in the heat without a fan – all to get their hands on the books. Photo Courtesy: Dr Shehernaz Nalwalla

When Dr Shehernaz Nalwalla, vice president at The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, planned the first ever book sale at the Asiatic Library, she didn't expect all 3,500 books on sale to be sold out within four hours. The sale which was put together within two-three days - just after the recently-concluded map exhibition at the library - was supposed to go on at the Durbar Hall till May 18 but the overwhelming response meant it ended much earlier than anyone expected.

While that left many people who had planned later visits disappointed, Nalwalla is content. "Every book has now got its reader who would be interested in reading them, instead of them just lying around because we could not put them up in the library," she says.

The books, priced between Rs 20 and Rs 30, included extra copies of titles that had to be let go from the library collection because of a space crunch. Among them were books on travel and marine life, art catalogues, biographies and academic textbooks.

The overwhelming response not only made the official happy but also reinstilled her confidence in Mumbai's reading culture. "It was really heartening to see people from all age groups - young, old, students, mothers come with their young children. It was not only middle-aged or only young people, but a mixed group. So, the very heartening thing about this is that people still read books because otherwise it wouldn't have had such a response," she explains. The vice president, who is also the chairperson for library administration and the book selection committee, said people came in as early as 8:30 am on the day and the line had extended to the bus stop outside and they didn't mind standing in the heat without a fan - all to get their hands on the books. The books were priced at Rs 30 and Rs 20 and included every kind that had been donated to the library over two-three decades.

Even though the team is short-staffed, they were able to pull it off because of a few quick calls. Nalwalla, who was a teacher for a long time and only retired four years ago from Wilson College, reached out to the South Mumbai college along with Ramnarain Ruia College in Matunga. The calls helped the Asiatic Library team get 20 student volunteers to assist them on the day and they not only helped run the show but also purchased books. Seeing that made Nalwalla happier. "It is an eye-opener when we keep on saying nobody reads books and everybody is only reading on Kindle. These are young people who are reading," she informs.

Dr Nalwalla (right) said it was heartening to see people from all age groups visit the book sale - young, old, students and mothers come with their young children too. Photo Courtesy: Dr Shehernaz Nalwalla

Making the most of three decades
City dwellers are well aware of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai and its large library and due to that it has been a very popular place for people to donate books over the years, Nalwalla says. "People very often don't like their old books to go to the raddiwalla and want it to be donated to the library. Over the years, we have been very happy to receive the books but sometimes the books are duplicates and we have one or two copies and because of a space crunch, we can't have another copy," she explains, adding that sometimes the donated books are guides, textbooks and engineering books, which don't fit within the purview of the Asiatic Society and those also became a part of the sale.

"Over the last 20-30 years, we had accumulated so many books, so we decided to sell the books," she shares. This was after they told people five years ago to not send in any more books because nobody took them back. "We had told them, ‘You send us a list, in case we find them interesting enough, we will ask for that book' - so instead of sending 100 books, we may just need three books out of that."

The success of this book sale may just change the way the library now approaches donations. Ask Nalwalla whether they plan on having more such book sales and she says, "It depends on the books we get as donations. Now the managing committee will think about strategies of how we can get books." However, she says it is still too early to comment right now. Mumbai's book lovers may have to wait a while before the halls open again for a book sale so they can get their hands on a prized copy.