Tucked into the labyrinthine by-lanes of Hauz Khas Village sits Yodakin, a welcoming little cupboard of a bookshop with a focus on independent publishers. Left Word, Blaft, Palador, Women Unlimited, Seagull Books and Yoda Press rub worthy shoulders on its shelves. A slim ladder leads to a mezzanine, with more books.
Arpita Das, founder of Yoda Press and co-owner of the bookshop, told us that marketing Yoda Press’s books was always difficult. Independent publishing houses field great reviews and talented authors, but retail stores are squeamish about stocking their titles, preferring the safety of multinational publishers. “It was really the recession that did it,” she explained. “Stores kept giving us the recession excuse, so we thought we’d take advantage of it. Rents were low, Hauz Khas is such an exciting place, and we thought, why not set up a space where we don’t allow multinational publishers?” Niche producers are raising the bar for Indian media publishing, striking out in brave and weird directions. Yodakin brings those efforts together in one place, from Underscore music titles to the Under Construction documentary collection.
Meanwhile, in Mehar Chand Market – fast becoming Khan Market part deux – is CMYK, Roli Books’ art and design-focused bookshop. Named for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the pigments used in colour printing, it’s appropriately colourful, and also sleek, friendly and Wi-Fi enabled. They’re happy to let you flip, flip, flip at your leisure, and it’s lovely not to see any shrink-wrapped volumes, the ultimate sign of prudish retail attitude. Instead they give you special gloves to handle their most expensive books.
“Roli’s known for its art and illustrated books, but we found there was really no place to display them,” said Priya Kapoor of Roli Books. “It was just a question of finding the right kind of place – which Mehar Chand market is – and of what niche we were trying to fill.” CMYK will even give you a cup of coffee while you read, which says a lot about the niche they opted for. “These sorts of books require browsing,” Kapoor said. Naintara Maya Oberoi
Yodakin 2 Hauz Khas Village, www.yodakin.com. Wed-Mon 10.30am-7.30pm, Tue 2-7.30pm.
CMYK 15-16 Mehar Chand Market, Lodhi Road (2464-1881). Daily 9.30am-8.30pm. For the Pecha Kucha series, see Events in Around Town.
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