Life of a bookshop.

[photos by Florian Morin; text by Mayank Austen Soofi]

February 26, 2016: Balraj Bahri Malhotra, the 87-year-old founder of Delhi’s iconic Bahrisons Booksellers bookstore in Khan Market, passes away. (The Delhi Walla wrote his obituary here.)

February 27: His funeral takes place at Central Delhi’s Lodhi Crematorium. The bookstore remains closed.

February 28: At 10.40 am, some employees of the Bahrisons are seen standing in front of the shop—its shutters are down. The shop is supposed to open at 11 am. Soon, the rest of the staffers start to arrive one by one. Some of them have chai on the pavement. They chat for a while. Two staffers gently remove the placards put up yesterday to announce the Senior Mr Bahri’s demise. The bookshop–that first opened in 1953–opens at 11.16 am. One of the first customers is Florian Morin, a Delhi resident. These are his pictures.

Balraj Bahri’s place

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3. (Vijay Kumar)

4. (Reet Bahadur Simkhada)

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6. (Rajesh Dhamija)

7. (Hariom Pathak)

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9. (Babita)

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11. (Manjur Alam)

12. (Devendra Bisht)

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