Book lovers can sniff and wriggle their way to books. These addicts cannot be diverted, no matter what the temptation. They are so hooked, that they can zombiewalk to the fresh smell of new books just for a kick.

The habit of reading is an equally expensive addiction to which there is no known cure, to be afflicted with it is a huge danger to the pockets.
Our Thane itself has a bookshop that we have long envied the people, living in Mumbai city limits of, the kinds of viz. Crossword, Danai, the Strand etc.But how may Thaneites know of the bookshop named PAPERBACK ?

Last week, one late evening, I took my daughter to this bookshop to check out some comics she was looking for her looming vacations. My only fear of visiting bookshops is the dread of ending up a whole lot lighter (of course, not in weight) you guessed it, but by cash. I end up taking risks like a besotted gambler and bet my last paisa on books.

Anyway there I was, standing in front of the shop trying to stop myself from going in. I tried convincing myself and my daughter that, I would wait till she made her selection of books, but it was of no help.

Once I pushed the glass door open, I was swept into the world of books that reminded me of my childhood and teenage years. Shelf to shelf my memories flashed by and changed. Rows and rows of neatly lined books made me feel hungry and want, so many books in this beautiful shop. To avoid the greed showing though I averted my eyes from the tempting array and decided to sacrifice this visit as it was a treat for my daughter.

I turned to the counter to say hi to Mr. B. Mahesh, the proprietor of Paperback, and got talking with him, "Well, I thought of Paperback around August-September 1998, when I was quite tired of journalism (in which I had spent 12 years, including in the Times of India and Business Standard) and wanted to start something of my own. Initially, I contemplated a news/feature service, but later I began thinking on the lines of something outside of journalism. A bookshop -- something I had thought of off and on -- seemed the best bet and I took the plunge, thanks to friends and family."

"I began meeting distributors and publishers like India Book House, India Book Distributors, Rupa, Shree Book Centre, Orient Longman and Oxford and everybody responded positively. Interaction with these distributors seemed as informal as journalism! Each of them promised full cooperation, including in stock selection. "

"Selection of books was primarily done by my wife Manjula (in fact, the name Paperback was her suggestion) and her sister Chitra, who came down from Bhopal. All this, while I was chatting with the distributors, striking a deal and also sitting with the architects -- Arvind Adarkar Associates from Mahim -- regarding the look of the shop. As it eventually turned out, the shop, by the admission of several customers, looks "cosy and great". The look of the shop helped bring draw in quite a lot of "first" customers."

"As far as book selection was concerned, the primary objective was to keep a wide variety even if not several copies of the same title. The authors displayed in the shop range from Ludlum, Wilbur Smith and Robin Cook to Shakespeare, Dickens and Hardy; Kiran Nagarkar, Rohinton Mistry and O V Vijayan to Shobha De, Anurag Mathur and Mulk Raj Anand; Isaac Asimov, David Eddings and Douglas Adams to Fritzof Capra, Paul Davies and Stephen Hawking; from Gabriel Marquez and Umberto Eco to Iris Murdoch and Tennessee Williams; from Peter Drucker and Philip Kotler to Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Al Ries-Jack Trout."

"The shop completed its second anniversary recently. In its two years of existence, Paperback has attracted people from even across the (city)border -- that is, from Mulund and other areas. A large part of the clientele comes not only from Thane but also from adjoining places like Mulund, Bhandup, Vikhroli and Kanjurmarg on the Mumbai side and Kalyan and Dombivali on the other.
What is even more appreciated by the customers is its working hours -- 10.30 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. (Wednesday closed). Paperback believes that residents of far-off suburbs (from Vikhroli to Dombivali) should have an opportunity to return home from a hard day's work and visit late night for a relaxed browsing experience, even if not buying."

"On July 4, 1999, Paperback had its first event. Tara Deshpande came for a book-signing event. The event was quite appreciated by Thane-ites, especially since it was organised within a week of her much-publicised book reading at Crossword. What is more, she even did two separate sessions of impromptu book-reading. What followed almost immediately was the release of Arundhati Roy's latest book (rather, booklet) -- The Greater Common Good. The distributors (India Book Distributors) told me that she has refused to visit any bookshop for any promotion. So, I did, possibly, the next best thing. Paperback got limited copies of her book, autographed by Ms Roy herself exclusively for Paperback. I can't help crowing but I was the only shop in the city (and the country) to be selling personally autographed copies of The Greater Common Good. It virtually sold out within three days."

"More events followed these and Paperback customers have expressed their happiness that 'celebrities actually come to Thane' for an interaction."

"Renowned chef Sanjeev Kapoor too was in the shop for signing his book 'Khana Khazana'. This was followed by actor Naseeruddin Shah who inaugurated a three-day exhibition organised by Paperback at the Sulochanadevi Singhania High School in Thane. "

"This has been followed up by book-signing event by Shobha De of her book 'Speed Post', held on April 2. De was in her element for the whole of the two hours that she was at Paperback, much to the delight of a constant stream of people, while she was signing Speed Post, her latest offering featuring her letters to her six children."

"More recently, Paperback has invited Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat for signing of his controversial book 'Betrayal of the Defence Forces'. The event was held soon after the Tehelka tapes expose and was an instant hit with Paperback customers. He interacted with people and answered questions in his inimitable frank and forthright manner."

"My basic aim has been to not only bring a quality shop to Thane and its citizens, but also not deprive them (purely because of a pre-conceived notion of distance by Mumbai-ites) of interaction with authors and well-known personalities. More events, including book-signing and book-reading, are on the anvil, ensured to bring value-addition to Paperback customers throughout 2001."

"Even as celebrities' book-signing and other events are undertaken, Paperback holds free story-telling session for children every Sunday morning. This has been greatly appreciated by parents as it keeps the children away from the idiot-box and also inculcates the reading habit in them. Renowned painter and writer Mr Badri Narayan inaugurated the story-telling session on November 14, 1999."

"Paperback offers free delivery of books throughout Mumbai. Any title will be delivered within 24 hours to 72 hours by Paperback in the Mumbai metropolitan region."

"An adult reading club, wherein new titles will be introduced to customers, and an authors' fan club are ready to be kicked off. Paperback has launched its own e-newsletter, announcing new arrivals, top selling books, Paperback recommendations and reviews."

There, my daughter was back waving her find of a Tintin and a few Amar chitra Kathas - to which I guiltily added, a Feng Shui book by Nitin Parakh. Like I said this is a dangerously incurable addiction. And my daughter informed me she still had to buy three more Tintin books to complete her set !