Among the hustle of a busy CP with the constant sounds of life on street, Oxford Bookstore openly invites people through its enormous red door, an escape from the routine life, fading all the noises in itself. It is a paradise to any book lover, dominating every listicle of must visit book cafes.

 

 The red door stands daunting in the presence of its visitors.

Photo courtesy little black book.

Oxford has a grand entry rousing us from the very start, leading us to the main hall where you can see diverse people engaged in some book or over it. The ambiance of the place is one of the reasons why people adore the bookstore.The soft music is a solace while you’re trying to search for a book. In the words of a customer himself, Gulshan Moorjani, “It is an experience where nobody is trying to sell you anything. It is laid back, you can spend or take your time, come here in the morning and be here till the evening I’m sure nobody is going to come to me disturbing my space.”

The comfortable and pleasant interiors of the store is a winner; every space is properly utilized, there’s a pool of ball where the kids could enjoy and read, then there is the corner past the book collections where cosy benches are provided for readers to read in silence. Arunima Shukla Tiwari says,”The open entrance is inviting, the pastel colored cycle with flowers is really pretty. It has  a European style nostalgia to it. A small room greets you with walls covered in books and tangled mess of string with notes on it. The books are uniformly pricey, but the store provides you a lot you won’t get anywhere else, like books in french and spannish translated by their embassies. It exposes a genuinely vast collection of books that the place has.”

Its effortless for the readers to lose themselves in the books available.

Photo courtesty tumblr.

The cha bar adjacent to the main hall is a real crowd-pleaser. Bibhuti Bhushan, who has been coming to the store for over a year, says,”The cha bar makes oxford bookstore different than other bookstores. I’m very fond of the place. Whenever you feel tired, you can just go and grab a bite and then come back. That’s one major quality.” The cha bar has a wide collection of tea hailing from different regions of the planet. The quirky chairs and snacks entertain the people coming in, it is bustling with conversations over tea or coffee. The waiters are well informed about their menu and are plenty helpful in deciding what you want.You can spend hours there, reading a book maybe, or completing a project.

 Hot, piping snacks of Cha bar keeps the conversations going.

Photo courtesy dilwalokidilli.files.wordpress.

There is no age gap to the kind of crowd the store attracts, due to its immense collection appealing to all.The variety of books overwhelms you, it ranges from the popular young adult novels to the profound poem collection of hindi poets, children illustrated books to the art collection of various artists. There’s a possibility that you may find books that you rarely in see in the normal market. All the books are on the M.R.P so the cost is quiet efficient. Shivani Katheria, it was the her first time there says,”There is an impressive collection of books. You pick up books apart from the ones you came here looking for. The fiction shelf is the most populated filled with many authors and their works. The noise is a bit of a prick. And, you may find cheaper second hand books in other places.”

The bookstore even has small stalls where people sell stuff like bookmarks, diaries, jewellery and other such goods, which are both pleasing to the eye and the pocket. The owner to the stalls are friendly and helpful people, tucked in one corner of the store, not pushing anyone for their attention. It is an attraction to literary events like launch of books or talks with the author. Other such things make it a place which is a pure delight to the booklovers.

 The vast collection, set in the most beautiful of way, soothes the eye of every booklover.

Photo courtesy little black book.

Shreya Srivastava, says,”A friend of mine suggested the place and even I have spread the word among my friend circle. There was variety in the collection and i did find what I was looking for i.e. to buy the Tom Swayer-Classic collection. I liked the segmentation of the collection of books.The average time spent here gets extended from 2-3 hours since you tend to shift from shelf to shelf along with the lovely cafe attached.”

Overall, it a haven in which you can browse for hours, in peace. There’s plenty of space to read and make yourself comfortable. There is a charm about the place, with the mixed smell of tea and books in the air and the wonder held in every shelf, the place calls to every booklovers who easily fall in love with it.

By:

Lekhak Parkhi Singh