Basheer and the Bookstore

Reading about “boi para’ in Time magazine suddenly makes me think of Basheer.

The ‘boi para” or “neighbourhood of books” in College Street, Kolkata, India offers the largest mass of secondhand volumes in Asia. Generations of Kolkata’s famous writers and revolutionaries have come of age amid its chaos.

Now, back to this gentle soft-spoken guy called Basheer. Back in the 1980s, before the proliferation of online bookstores, or the Internet for that matter, Basheer would come round to our design studio on his little scooter every month, plying us with glossy design books and magazines. This enterprising young man would, in his accented English, give a review of the latest publications. He'd wait patiently as we went through his collection and he'd allow us to keep our favourites for a week or two.

More often than not, these books would never leave our library. We’d find his bill in our mailbox later. The affable Basheer with the growing biceps, soon built up a stable of customers rapidly – architects, ad agencies, designers, fashion houses, animators etc – and grew the business regionally.

From one small shop in Bras Basah Complex, it expanded to two. Then a new one sprouted in Kuala Lumpur, followed by another in Thailand. I googled “Basheer Graphic Books” and found that they’ve even gone into publishing! Oh, they have a nifty website too!http://www.basheergraphic.com/

Such determination and diligence had won him lots of respect from friends in the industry. Even in today’s highly competitive environment, the demand for Basheer’s books is still growing.

Well done, my friend!