Strand’s Inspirational Founder, Strand’s Inspirational Growth

T.N. Shanbhag launched his Strand Book Stall with a princely capital of Rs. 450 on 20 Nov 1948. For him, bookselling was not limited to ‘trading’ but was to be the sharing of great human experiences in the arts and sciences, stored in book form. Therefore he was the first one in the whole world to give a 20% discount to the reader whom he considered a kindred soul, keeping a negligible survival margin for himself. For him, the dynamics of the written word became the guiding principle.

Even the birth of the bookshop was an unusual experience. Once he had gone to Strand Cinema to see a great movie but during the interval he saw an empty corner. It struck him as the right place to have a small book kiosk. He neither had the expertise regarding the purchase of books nor their margins, much less the capital required to set things up. He had a meager Rs. 450/- saved up from his scholarships to fall back on. When he went to Mr. K.K Modi who owned the theatre apart from 55 others in the country, he was duly impressed by young Shanbhag’s enthusiasm and not only gave him the space but built a kiosk which flourished ever since. When a reader becomes a seller it transcends into a spiritual experience with no boundaries. The selection within the confines of that space was exceptional. For instance, he brought 1000 copies of Dr. Zhivago whereas the publisher from UK had not received a single copy order from elsewhere in India !

Shanbhag was born in 1925 in the small village of Tekkatte near Mangalore, the only son of a prosperous grocer. When he was only 2 ½ years old, the father passed away, leaving him to the mercy of an illiterate uncle who not only usurped the business, but refused to pay the young Shanbhag’s school fees! He had to live on scholarships based on his outstanding performance in the competitive exams for poor students of Mangalore district. With those high marks he could attract two more scholarships from Bombay making the total of Rs. 12/- per month. Hostel fee and tuition fee cost Rs. 9.75/-. From the savings of two years he brought the complete works of Swami Vivekananda from Advaita Ashram, Calcutta, for Rs. 27/- per set. Swamiji, who was perhaps the greatest humanist India has ever produced in the last several centuries, inspired him greatly.

He was a passionate reader from the age of 13 and read most of the outstanding classics from the high school library. When he joined Xavier’s College in Bombay at the age of 17, he read Plato and Aristotle and other great works from the library. He had to work part-time to support his studies.

Shanbhag’s first customer at Strand Book Stall on 20th Nov 1948 was an English gentleman, Richard Burton, chairman of Standard Oil Company, one of the eight greatest companies in the world then. He picked up the just released “Memoirs of Sir Winston Churchill” Vol. 1. Shanbhag gave him a 20% discount, perhaps the first time in the world such a thing had been done ! As the sales blossomed, be began giving away larger and larger discounts, keeping only a small margin to sustain the business. This was and has been his self-imposed discipline from day one.

To relate one interesting episode, once when Pandit Nehru had come to Bombay and was staying at Raj Bhavan, his secretary phoned Shanbhag that the ‘great man’ wanted to visit the bookshop. Shanbhag suggested 10.30 at night as there was no chance of a crowd gathering. Panditji came and bought 27 books, so impressed was he with the brief two-line review the young bookseller gave him about every book ! Thereafter Shanbhag went to Teen Murti House with a few books for him whenever he went to Delhi. When Pandit Nehru asked him why he insisted on a 20% discount, Shanbhag’s reply was heartfelt. He said, “Sir you are our ruler and to keep you well-informed is my duty as a citizen”. The noble thought must have deeply moved the leader.

Mr. T.T. Krishnamachari, one of India’s most brilliant Finance Ministers, and also a great reader with an enormous personal library, become one of Shanbhag’s early customers. He was instrumental in bringing him in contact with Pandit Nehru. By now, it had become customary for Shanbhag to carry several bundles of books on each of his Delhi trips. Knowing the preferences of individual leaders, he would make special parcels for each and, after calling on Pandit Nehru, make a round of the others. During such Delhi trips, Shanbhag used to stay at Claridge’s Hotel. One day TTK asked him where he was staying. The bookseller told him of the hotel. TTK not only asked his secretary to settle Shanbhag’s three days’ hotel bill, but instructed that his luggage be bought to his brought to his personal guest house ! In time he introduced Shanbhag to several top secretaries like T.N. Kaul and others. So fond was he of Shanbhag that he promised to ask his eldest son, T.T. Narasimhan to give him some money, repayable when able without interest should the young bookman ever need money.

Although Shanbhag needed capital badly, he told TTK that he did not need the money. It has been an article of faith for him not to accept any favours. What gave him real soul satisfaction was TTK calling him “the archetypal bookseller”!

Even after his intimacy with Pandit Nehru become known, though many VIP doors opened for Shanbhag, he never took advantage of these on moral grounds.

At an early stage, Shri Y.B. Chavan was not only a great well-wisher and customer but also introduced Shanbhag to Shri Sharad Pawar as his “Manasa-Putra”, He was always enquiring about his welfare. As usual Shanbhag  never took advantage of any of this. He believed in “ Nishpapa Karma” and did not expect nor believe in any favours in return.

Talking books with The President,  Infosys Mysore, Apr 2007 (l-r) Sudha Murty, Dr. Kalam, N R Narayana Murthy, Vidya Virkar

As luck would have it, as the years of dedicated work passed, the who’s who of this country like JRD Tata, Nani Palkhivala, G.D. Birla, Keshub Mahindra, Sir Ambalal Sarabhai, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, and Dr. Abdul Kalam, besides many great personages like Shri Jayaprakash Narayan and others become his customers, well-wishers and friends. In short, he became a witness to history as it were. The witness to history became the creator of history. In 2003 Shanbhag was awarded a Padmashree for the pursuit of enlightened bookselling in India by Dr. Abdul Kalam. He was the first bookseller in the country to be thus recognised. In 2006 he received the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose National Award for excellence recognized by UNESCO. In 2008 he was elected man of the year representing India by American Biographical institute. For several years now, Shanbhag’s son Arun Shanbhag had been an intrinsic part of Strand business. He supported Mr. Shanbhag’s  buying decisions – little and large - and kept the shop well-stocked with books that were unique to Strand. Serious, eclectic, affordable, was the mantra. In 1995 Shanbhag’s daughter Vidya Virkar, who had returned to India from Europe, decided to open Strand Bangalore. Fired with the same zeal but totally inexperienced in the ways of business, she entered the fray. Bangalore was ready for Strand and completely embraced the concept. The Bangalore shop literally grew with the city and fed the young minds of the IT boom. Strand Bangalore was the first bookshop to start book readings – literary interactions between the likes of Shashi Deshpande, Sudha Murty, Shashi Tharoor, Anita Nair and their readers. The concept was once again a huge hit. Book readings for little children followed, all aimed at inspiring young readers to read. Parents queued up to get a place for their kids! Then followed the really big innovation: the very popular Strand Book Festivals; first in Bangalore, then in Mumbai. Today these have grown to cult proportions and it’s a date in every booklover’s diary. People pick up books for the year: basketfuls of great reading at amazing discounts! The next innovation was the forays into ITs heartland. Strand was invited to open campus stores by IT majors Infosys and Wipro. Today Strand not only has two major stores in Mumbai and Bangalore, but campus stores in Infosys Bangalore, Mysore, Hyderabad and Pune, as well as Wipro Bangalore. Today Mr. Shanbhag is survived by his wife Asha and his two children. The legacy lives on…. Welcome to www.strandbookstall.com, your portal to the Strand legacy !