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City Landmark – Maktaba Jamia Limited, Old Delhi

City Landmark - Maktaba Jamia Limited, Old Delhi

Story of a bookstore

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

See the shelves. Each crammed tightly with books. The attic within is similarly stocked. A wooden ladder hanging from a shelf is no showpiece—it is to go up the false ceiling crammed with even more books.

And if you sit by the bookstore’s desk, you can catch a side glimpse of the centuries-old Jama Masjid outside, see right photo.

Old Delhi’s Maktaba Jamia Limited has defied the pessimists. Last year, the Urdu Bazar bookstore triggered a series of false alarms about its closure. At one point early this year it stayed shuttered for more than a month, causing citizens to panic when “Chicken Corner” came up in front of the shutters. This afternoon, no sign of that “Chicken Corner,” and the bookstore is pulsating with so much life that it seems that it might after all outlast us, as it has the previous generations. The shop has been a Walled City landmark since 1949.

The reason behind the bookstore’s renewed confidence is actually sad, attesting to the fact that an institution is more likely to thrive when it periodically sheds its old skin for the new. Maktaba’s long-time face is no longer a part of it. The legendary Ali Khusro Zaidi left in February, his chair occupied by his replacement, who has already been attending to the shop for three months.

Urdu Bazar was once lined with scores of Urdu language bookstores (almost all have been replaced by kebab shops), and the unassuming Ali Khusro Zaidi was the bazar’s longest serving bookstore staffer. Manning the shop since 1978, his Urdu diction was immaculate, his speaking style melodious. His departure from Urdu Bazar truly marks the closure of an era. Every Maktaba loyalist must be wishing him well for his life’s forthcoming innings.

Now let’s welcome his replacement. Mahfooz Alam (see other photo) has an exuberant personality. A friendly erudite gent, he has spent years editing Urdu journals. This late afternoon, he is scribbling something on a receipt, while chatting about Shamsur Rahman Farooqui’s highbrow criticism. He is simultaneously addressing a customer’s query on poet Majaz. This customer happens to be a university professor who has been coming to the bookstore for two decades. Since the book he wants is out of stock, the helpful Mahfooz Alam dials the book’s publisher. Meanwhile, the professor is accosted by a young reader wanting tips on “easy” writers.

Moments pass, more customers enter the bookstore. One person asks for Kaifi Azmi, another utters out a name totally unfamiliar to this reporter. The tiny place is getting crowded, noisier, buzzier.

Books by the Jama

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City Landmark - Maktaba Jamia Limited, Old Delhi

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City Landmark - Maktaba Jamia Limited, Old Delhi

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City Landmark - Maktaba Jamia Limited, Old Delhi

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City Landmark - Maktaba Jamia Limited, Old Delhi

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City Landmark - Maktaba Jamia Limited, Old Delhi

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