<html><head><DEFANGED_style_0 <!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></DEFANGED_style></head><body><p><DEFANGED_div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><p><DEFANGED_DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif"><BR><BR>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif">----- Forwarded Message ----<BR>From: alice samson <alicesamson@gmail.com><BR>To: cugambetta@yahoo.com<BR>Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:21:52 PM<BR>Subject: Fwd: Post 3/ The Second Hand book stalls of Hyderabad.<BR><BR><BR><BR>---------- Forwarded message ----------<BR><DEFANGED_SPAN class=gmail_quote>From: <B class=gmail_sendername>alice samson</B> <<A href="mailto:alicesamson@gmail.com" target="_blank" DEFANGED_rel="nofollow">alicesamson@gmail.com</A>><BR>Date: Jul 19, 2007 8:22 PM <BR>Subject: Post 3/ The Second Hand book stalls of Hyderabad.<BR>To: <A href="mailto:urbanstudygroup@sarai.net" target="_blank" DEFANGED_rel="nofollow">urbanstudygroup@sarai.net</A><BR><BR></DEFANGED_SPAN>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV> </p><DEFANGED_DIV>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV>Post 3/ The Second Hand book stalls of Hyderabad</p><DEFANGED_DIV>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV> </p><DEFANGED_DIV>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV>Buyers.</p><DEFANGED_DIV>
<P> While on the one hand I have spent a considerable amount of time hunting out various kinds of Second-hand book markets and shops in Hyderabad I have also simultaneously interviewed a number of buyers/collectors/aficionados (can someone supply me with a word for a passionate second-hand book buyer!!). My conversations with some old time residents of Hyderabad like, prof.Javeed Alam, revealed that in his time inspite of being a student in the city his modest inheritance had ensured that he never went to the pavement sellers of second- hand books nor had he shopped for textbooks etc at the Koti seconds shops. Instead he would frequent the rare, antique bookstores in the area close to the bangles bazaar at Charminar where he picked up expensive, rare books for his collection. <BR>As Mr Prashant Iyengar in responding to my first post pointed out and Javeed's account confirms,the profile of the second hand book book buyer seems to include a
crucial class factor.</P>
<P><BR>There are others like Ms Chitra (name changed) who works for an NGO in the city that provides educational services for children and has been a frequent visitor of the bookshops like Bestbook store at Tilak road, Abids; which stocks a phenomenal number of Second-hand books stacked all around the floor of the shop with just enough space to squeeze past. Chitra has a special interest in children's books both for her NGO and her personal interest and frequently requests the shop owner to get her larger quantities of these. Her requests are always met with the same answer that it is impossible to ask for specific books to be brought in. The modus operandi of these shops is not conducive to large quantities of specific requests. We will dwell a little more on the exact modes of operation of the second hand book trade, however Chitra's experience hints at the fact that the element of chance plays a very big role in not only purchase but also
procurement for the sellers. </P>
<P>.</P>
<P>Chitra has been in the city since childhood and remembers some markets like the Koti second hand text book market as being there for over two decades. Chitra sifts through the secondhand book shops on the lookout for childrens books and teaching materials. A frequent visitor of Best Books at Tilak Road, Lakdikapul and the quite frequent Best Books exhibition stall at Y.M.C.A, she finds a lot of books utterly useless to her amongst these are; hoards of Novels, Health books; largely on how to handle pregnancies etc, cookery books; Chitra finds them ridiculous because most of them deal with baking and preparation of non-vegetarian dishes, mostly using ingredients hard to come by here sometimes she also spots a couple of books suitable to Indian styles of cooking, books on crafts activities; again useless as materials are hard to procure in India, outdated computer books, books on Science and accounting, however amidst these
she says she always manages to find something of interest to her at a fabulous bargain price; Disney books that cost Rs 450 at the retail shop 3 kms from Best; Himalaya Book Stores, can be picked up for as low as 90-100 at the Best books Shop. Moreover Chitra, adds gleefully, many a time she manages to convince the seller to settle for an even lower price. Chitra rates the price as usually being about 1/4th of the original cost. She has even managed to convince the Best Books seller to buy back his own books at ½ the price he sells it to her but he won't accept books from other seconds sellers. </P>
<P>There is also a method behind the seeming madness in the variety of books and a very important change in the working of this business from the traditional methods of functioning of the second hand book trade. In subsequent posts I will give you a detailed account of the interesting way in which this trade now operates </P>
<P>Chitra also filled me in on another very different experience of shopping for second hand books at the pavements of Abids and Koti in Hyderabad. Today a drive past Koti inevitably draws our attention to an absence ,even to a newcomer in the city, the graffiti on the walls outside Koti women's college announce such things </P>
<P> </P>
<P>Prakash books<BR> Shifted to<BR>Shop number 516<BR>Gokul Arcade</P>
<P>And a hundred other such pointers to the new addresses of the displaced old shops.</P>
<P>As Chitra and others told me the pavement that is now barren, with only the graffiti pointing to, what had become something the city had grown around. It was hardly the shops that were the cause of congestion or nuisance that were the reasons cited behind their removal. They were small shops, remembers Chitra, maybe slightly bigger than a pan shop, propped against the compound wall of the women's college, stacked with text books reference materials etc from floor to ceiling and more books fighting for space on the counter. Hundreds of students came to these shops from the Women's college and the nearby Arts College as well as the schools located nearby and at other places in the city. <BR>Seema recalls her school days in Hyderabad when these shops were the succour for many poor students, children from families with many children for whom books were unaffordable, people who wanted to read to make a better lives for themselves etc. Though the
shops have been provided an alternative location, many feel that they are not what they used to be. People like Chitra feel there has not been any significant reduction in congestion as the area itself is like that with schools, colleges, cart sellers etc all-jostling for space. The need for a space that makes books easily available and affordable is clearly felt. Chitra feels that this is also an excellent way to promote the reading habit. </P>
<P> </P>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV>Until the next post…</p><DEFANGED_DIV>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV> </p><DEFANGED_DIV>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV>[ Interview were conducted with Ms Chitra on 10th July, 2007</p><DEFANGED_DIV>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV> and prof Javeed on multiple occassions in June]</p><DEFANGED_DIV><DEFANGED_SPAN class=sg>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV> </p><DEFANGED_DIV>
<p><DEFANGED_DIV>Alice Samson<BR>C.I.E.F.L, Hyderabad</p><DEFANGED_DIV>
<P><A href="mailto:alicesamson@gmail.com" target="_blank" DEFANGED_rel="nofollow">alicesamson@gmail.com</A></P></DEFANGED_SPAN>
<P><BR>ps. Thank you Mr Prashant Iyengar and Basscom Guffin for sharing your experiences at these book shops and in Hyderabad. It would be extremely useful if others also can share their experiences at these shops in other cities and in Hyderabad. <BR></P></p><DEFANGED_DIV><BR></p><DEFANGED_DIV></p><DEFANGED_div><br>
<hr size=1>Choose the right car based on your needs.
Check out <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48518/*http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/;_ylc=X3oDMTE3NWsyMDd2BF9TAzk3MTA3MDc2BHNlYwNtYWlsdGFncwRzbGsDY2FyLWZpbmRlcg-- ">Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool.</a>
</body></html>