Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The hype of reading books and the excitement of collecting books like Champak, Chacha Chaudhary and others are increasingly becoming history. The times when people fought over newly released editions of novels seem to be over. Book stores, libraries and reading cafés in Indore are drying up as the demand for hard copy novels or books—hardcovers and paperbacks—has dropped significantly.
Hunaid Haidry, book shop owner, says, “The demand for novels and other books have recently decreased in the city. People mostly opt for academic textbooks and other study materials. There is demand for short story books and similar ones by theatre artistes, but the overall hype isn’t all that much.”
While the city provides many cosy cafés and reading spaces, the inflow of books has all but petered out. Himanshu Soni, owner of a café with reading space, says people are not interested in the books displayed. All they seem to be interested in is the food and the ambience. He adds, “Our bookshelves are stacked with books of many genres but what people ask for is just food. There is nothing wrong with what they ask for, but the purpose behind setting up our place, which was to provide a cosy atmosphere to readers, does not get fulfilled. Our previous café branch with the same concept was closed down permanently as no one took the initiative to read in the space made available to them.”
‘Popularity of online copies’
‘The decreasing demand for hard copy books in the market is the result of the popularity of online copies and PDFs made available to the public. With the emergence of online books and apps like Kindle and others, people prefer to buy soft copies of the books’
— Shantanu Khandelwal, book shop owner
‘Piracy a problem’
‘People prefer to buy books that are cheap and those that can be made available to them through pirated mediums’
— Himanshu Soni, owner of a reading café
‘Fewer readers here’
‘The readership in Indore is far less than that of the megacities. Many come here asking for books related to their field of study’
— Hunaid Haidry, book shop owner
