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Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Best Little Library in Delhi


Imagine reading the latest books at just 10 percent of the cover price.
And best of all, not having to store those books in your space-starved home for the next 50 years, and religiously dusting them in dusty Delhi everyday. That's what you can do with the best little library in Delhi, called Eloor Library, tucked away in a basement in South Extension.

Delhi,for all its boasting about its restaurants, its art galleries, its museums,has little to boast about when it comes to libraries.
Especially what are called, in towns and cities across India, as "lending libraries":libraries, which for a small sum of money, and refundable deposit, let you read books.
After years, nay, decades of searching, I finally found Eloor.
It is packed with the latest bestsellers, and the books are brand new, and the air-conditioning is superb, and boy, can you get the typical fragrance of the newly printed page there..
All you have to do is deposit 1,000 rupees, borrow books upto that amount, for a rent of ten percent of the book, and keep the book for two weeks. Or if you want to borrow more books, deposit 2,000, and borrow upto that amount. And if you want to keep the book longer, pay a rent of one percent of the book per day.
What's more, you can suggest books you would like the library to buy, and they will get them for you, and phone you up and inform you that the book has come...
Ah, the excitement of hunting for a book, rather than the tame act of buying it off a bookshop!!
I have been carrying the visiting cards of Eloor, and giving hundreds of them away, stiff with worry that they will close shop if they do not attract a big enough clientele.
You can see what they're all about at: www.eloorlibraries.in
The Address: D-31,South Extension-1, Delhi 110049.
Telephone:24626122.
Landmark: Its in a lane which is three lanes away, parallel and behind South Ex Part 1 market.
Am I unashamedly plugging some chappie's stuff?? Yes, I am. Coz this will change your life!!
P.S : Eloor closed its doors in Delhi in 2014, due to lack of profitability. They invited their customers to come and pick up books to the extent of their deposits, and clients sadly did so. I believe Eloor continues to function in other cities, like Chennai, where rents are lower, and citizens read.

2 comments:

  1. Wow!! Just when I thought this was found only south of the vindhyas.....you publish your discovery in south ex.....there was one in chennai...are they part of the same chain?

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  2. Yep, this one is also part of the Eloor Libraries chain, which is in Kolkota and Chennai. ..May their tribe increase...!!

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