Rare Bookstore is the treasure house for book-lovers. The joy of manually going through a rare collection is a different high for many. The store operates out of a car garage and has many interesting books spanning across subjects. Mr. Govindaraju, the 82-year-old shop owner shares with us that he is an avid book enthusiast and started collecting books way back in 1958 after his father inspired him to read. He recollects strolling down streets of Triplicane, Kilpauk and Moore Market to buy books.
He says that soon he had so many books that he hardly had any space left for them. But that didn’t stop him from acquiring more books. For many years, the idea of selling his precious collection didn’t strike. However, about a decade ago he purchased a few racks and turned his car garage into a book store that housed his first 10,000 books. This collection was purchased by another avid book enthusiast. The store currently has his second set of collections with 5,000 books, which he collected from various libraries and shops.
The Rare Book Store not only has rare books but also old print ads, pamphlets, brochures, pictures from the history untold or less circulated. He also has a collection of old cartoons from newspapers and magazines. The store also has many early editions of great biographies on Nehru, Gandhi and many freedom struggle leaders. Books by Victor Hugo, D.H.Lawrence, Bertrand Russell, Charles Dickens and many classic authors are also available in here. This car garage book store has books related to history, fiction, politics, culture, philosophy, biographies, autobiographies, science and so on.
It is also amazing to have a discussion with Mr.Govindaraju about the books. The man knows his books well. The prices are reasonable.
Contact Mr. Govindaraju at 9941132756 or email renuka_govindaraju@yahoo.com before you go for a prior confirmation!
Location : 45/50,Second Main Road, R.A.Puram,, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600028 (Near Kaliyappa Hospital)
