When it comes to iconic and historic places in Delhi, there is no dearth of them. There are so many you could probably separate them into different categories like for monuments, eateries, shopping, bookstores and more.
There are some that have been running since the pre-independence era or some that might have started after but have truly managed to stand the test of time, existing even after decades and decades of changing society, historic moments in time and more.
One of those would certainly be the Faqir Chand and Sons bookstore located in Delhi’s Khan Market which has been around for some 70-odd years and has come under attention once more after it was featured on the Instagram page of Oprah’s Book Club community.
Indian Bookstore In Oprah’s Book Club
The official Instagram page of Oprah’s Book Club featured the Faqir Chand Bookstore writing that “If you love a cozy, old-fashioned bookstore, Faqir Chand Bookstore in New Delhi will speak to your soul.
This family-run business has been operating in the Khan Market shopping district since 1951 and is now managed by the great-grandson of the shop’s founder!
The shop offers an array of new releases, classics, and Indian literature and is beloved for its charmingly haphazard stacks and a warm, open vibe — you’ll often find strangers striking up conversations while shopping. Would you like to spend some time browsing here?”
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The store was opened in the year 1951 by Faqir Chand when he moved to Delhi after the partition from Peshawar. The store now maintained by his great-grandson Abhinav Bahmi, is one of the few ones that are still standing in their original form and have not upgraded to some swanky new bookshop.
Faqir Chand actually had started his first book store called the Oriental Book Shop in Peshawar Cantonment in 1931. He probably decided to continue in the same sector after moving to Delhi, but this time naming the store after himself.
The owner eventually passed away in 1985 and his portrait is still hung up in a corner of the shop. The store was taken over by his son Ram Lubhaya and then his daughter Mamta and her husband Anup Kumar, a lawyer, who took over the reins when Lubhaya died in 1992.
The couple has managed to keep the store running till date and kept it in a very low maintenance condition without many frills or fancy stuff added. The store is a small cramped narrow one with books and paperbacks stacked up in tall piles and arranged in a haphazard way that doesn’t really have much of a system to them.
It still gives that homey old bookstore feels where the locals and even book enthusiasts can come looking for their favourite titles, ask the owners directly about any new books or just spend hours rifling through the many books spread across the store on their own.
In Khan Market, only this store along with Anand Stationers remain as they have been from the start. The store is also extremely special since the Marwahs of the Faqir Chand family are one of the few remaining original families that have lived in Khan Market since its very inception in 1951 itself.
The Marwahs still live in house No. 59, one of the seven homes that have stood the times and not been converted into cafes or designer boutiques like the rest.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: NDTV, Lifestyle Asia, Livemint
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Delhi Bookstore, Faqir Chand Book Store, Faqir Chand Book Store delhi, Faqir Chand Book Store khan market, Khan market, Khan market delhi, old bookstore, old bookstore delhi, Faqir Chand and Sons bookstore
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