Modern Book Centre standing tall by Mukund B
Owing to the rise of e-books and the pandemic, many bookstores have been facing a tough time. However, a few have remained afloat and focusing on one such bookstore, Mukund B writes about Modern Book Centre in Kerala and how they operated during the pandemic.
Modern Book Centre, founded in the year 1979, is in Tiruvananthapuram, the capital of the Indian state Kerala. This store was founded by N E Balakesavan and many members of his family are part of the bookstore. It started in a 100 square feet rented building and has now expanded to a 1000 square feet owned building.
The rise of e-books had a medium impact on this bookstore. Readers from different parts of Kerala, consistently bought books from Modern Book Centre. To be a tough competitor in this era of e-books, this bookstore stocks a niche category, at special Indian prices and these books are not available online.
During the pandemic, Modern Book Centre
had to be closed for a few months because books were not categorised as essential
commodity. But at the same time online sale was allowed, which was a
setback. Post lockdown, they operated for a few hours
according to government rules and regulations and included home delivery option.
When the lockdown was eased, they resumed
their normal schedule. Due to online classes and material being read online,
there was a decrease in sales of degree course books but children's books were
in demand as the children were at home due to online schooling.
Modern Book Centre has over two lakh titles in
fiction, non-fiction, professional courses, textbooks, degree courses, computer
books, general knowledge, self-help books and children's books. Sales of books
in each category are different during every month. Overall, general books and
textbooks are sold every month.
Visit the store when you are around!
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Their location: Gandhari Amman Kovil Road, Thiruvananthapuram-695001 | Map
Their operating hours: 930 am to 830 pm, Mon – Sat; Holiday on Sunday
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Source: Personal interview with the members of the book centre via email.
Bio: Mukund is a first year B.Tech student at NIT Warangal. His hobbies include writing blogs, listening to songs, playing sports, and watching railway/aviation related videos on You-tube. His aspiration is to work in the aviation industry as a lead engineer. He lives in Hyderabad.
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