That Book Store, which began as an online venture, offers a lovingly curated collection of pre-loved and subsidised children’s books and an offbeat selection for adults. It is now setting up a physical space in August
RAMANDEEP KAUR | NT KURIOCITY
The idea of That Book Store first took roots in 2015. Having moved to Goa almost 10 years ago, Ucassaim-based Barkha Sharda and her spouse Chitrang Kumar soon began noticing a gap in access to children’s books in North Goa.
“Chitrang and I had been working in an alternate learning space for children at the time, and there was a need to regularly source relatable, real books for children of all ages. It didn’t matter whether the books were old or new, just that they were in good condition and the content was sensitive to the needs of children and adults,” she recalls. They found that the locally available options consisted mostly of shiny bookstores selling more merchandise than books, focusing entirely on fast-moving inventory and popular books that sell. “Finding gentle stories that speak of various cultures, folk tales, feelings, and relationships had all but disappeared,” says Sharda, who holds a master’s in Social Work and MPhil in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
The duo realised that there was a need for a place that has books that can help youngsters navigate through complicated emotions, feelings, and struggles that are all part of growing up. During the first COVID-19 wave, they worked on building a collection. While the initial plan was to focus on curating only children’s picture books, they found that there was good demand for chapter books for young adults, coffee table books, non-fiction books for adults, poetry, and rare titles.
In October 2021, That Book Store was launched as an online venture and went on to have its first pop-up stall at Dasya Community Centre, Porvorim. Apart from being part of various pop-ups, they also began a stall at the Goa Collective Bazaar at Hilltop, Vagator, which, according to Sharda, was a first for any bookstore at the Friday Night Market and gave them a lot of visibility.
At the moment, That Book Store curates across the board and focuses on making books accessible and affordable for all economic groups. Kumar, who has a background in graphic design and 2D animation, takes care of all the marketing and design setup for the brand.
“It is not an exclusive collection, it is an inclusive collection. It is a deeply personal curation that addresses all the challenges we have recognised,” says Sharda, adding that most bookstores selling new books or even pre-loved ones do not spend a lot of time curating their collection, instead choosing to sell everything based on popular reviews or opinions. “For example, stories that use pink for girls and blue for boys or other types of stereotyping can be deeply damaging but bookstores continue to stock Peppa Pig and its merchandise, or even deeply religious stories which focus on only a single aspect of this vast peninsula, excluding various communities and cultures that live across it,” she explains.
Their collection has books specifically focusing on multicultural stories from across the world – Hawaiian, Welsh, Spanish, German, Jewish, African-American, Native American, English, Bengali, and Hindi, as also stories from various cultures translated into English. “At present, we’re trying to source Urdu, Kannada, and Marathi books, and whatever we can get our hands on. Our focus remains on translations, writing by women and other genders, non-white writers, poetry, wordless picture books, rare and banned books,” says Sharda, and adds that their patrons have also donated books regularly.
The duo is now in the process of setting up their first physical space in Altinho. Here one will be able to sit and read without the pressure of having to spend money.
“We hadn’t expected that our simple curation would receive so much appreciation so quickly. In fact, in the beginning, we hoped that perhaps in a year’s time we’ll be in a position to start a physical store. But only after six months we were constantly getting asked the same question – where is the physical bookstore? It is because of this motivation that we are now ready to take the next big step,” she says. Apart from this, they also hope to curate for schools and other educational spaces, including people’s home libraries within and outside Goa.
(The next pop-up will be held on July 9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Monsoon Marketplace at Bloom & Brew, Assagao.)