New Delhi: Tinkling laughter and clinking of glasses mingled with notes of jubilant qawaali greet you as you approach Bikaner House near Delhi’s India Gate.
The mood inside is celebratory — groups of people sway to the music of Nizami Bandhu — an Indian Sufi qawaali band — while others gather around tables to chat, wine and champagne glasses in hand, as the spicy aromas of kebabs and biryani waft in the air.
This event, held on 16 December, was to celebrate 70 years of Bahrisons — an iconic bookshop in the heart of Delhi’s Khan Market. Founded by Balraj Bahri in 1953, the store, known to have some rare titles, currently has branches in Chandigarh and Kolkata.
For Anuj Bahri, its current proprietor and son of founder Balraj, Bahrisons symbolises his father’s determination to fight adversities and build an enduring legacy. What started as a small enterprise has grown into a landmark with a loyal clientele, even in this era of digital books, he said, adding that the event was to pay tribute to the vision and perseverance of one man “who sought to bring knowledge, literacy, and cohesiveness to society”.
“Seventy years is a landmark, especially so when my parents are no more. My father died six years ago, my mother died this year. She died at 91, and it was her desire to celebrate the existence of a business that started from scratch,” he told ThePrint.
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A shared dream
Balraj Bahri came to India from Mandi Bahauddin in present-day Pakistan’s Punjab Province after the Partition in 1947. Like many other families, he too had left everything behind.
“He was a maths student in what became Pakistan. After coming to India, he did odd jobs before opening this shop, the foundation of something stable (sic),” Aanchal Malhotra née Bahri, an Indian historian and daughter of Anuj, told ThePrint. Her father added: “We came here as nobodies, we had nothing.”
Anuj’s wife Rajjni said she’s proud of the legacy that first her in-laws and then her husband have created. “We also have an excellent team of people working with us. We are proud of the legacy that my father-in-law has created.”
Technology has been a boon for small enterprises like Bahrisons. According to the couple’s younger daughter Aashna Bahri, social media has changed — even bettered — the way of promoting and marketing products.
“Obviously, technology has made things a lot easier. So, we’re learning to (use) tech behind the scenes while we still sell print,” she said.
So what’s their one piece of advice for people? Read as much as possible, said Anuj.
“And it doesn’t matter how you read. Reading on a device or reading on a book, as long as you are widening the horizons of your knowledge. At some stage in your life, you will need that knowledge. And if you don’t have it, you might struggle,” he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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