Sunday, January 08, 2012

Blossoming Bangalore

The title to this piece may be considered most inappropriate in these 'expanding' times--when once quiet and sweet towns have expanded into megapolises that gobble up villages and turn them into suburbs that ring the original town in increasing circles--apparently Bangalore will soon have its third 'ring road'! The first encloses the charming original Bangalore, the second came around after the birth of the tech parks , the shiny office, the homes and hotels..... and now with more 'hallis' getting ripe for real estate makeover.... apparently a third is on the way.

But to return to the title--well, despite the increased urbanization , flowers still bloom on trees that have escaped the town planners' scythe; but something else blooms too --a warm and cozy bookshop called Blossom.

For me. no visit to Bangalore is ever complete without a session of book browsing and buying at this amazing store . And this time I ( and my daughter) did just that during my new year visit to the city--walked down serene Church street, off the bustling MG Road. Walked past some interesting pavement stalls (not too many to clog up the sidewalks, but just a couple or so, to lend character to the street and maybe a curio for your shelf). Walked past good ol' Indian Coffee House, entered a 'Beer Cafe' that also promised coffee and baked goods; refreshed and replenished oneself with crisp garlic bread and , umm, bad coffee--obviously the beer would've been better-- then entered Blossom Book shop next door. It was a short 40 minute peep-in, so I could not indulge in the pleasure of browsing my way right up to the top floor; but did manage to pick up two very readable bargains-- a copy Of Granta (issue # 84, circa winter 2003) and an anthology of column collections from Jeremy Clarkson, the Brit from BBC tv, the motormouth of the motoring world.

Ah, heaven.

I'm back in Chennai, but still reading the books, awaiting my next visit to Bangalore and Blossom.

To learn more about Blossom, just follow this link--

http://www.mybangalore.com/article/0511/stacked-piles-of-wonder-at-blossom-book-house.html

3 comments:

lalsub said...

Just re-read my piece. Too many wells. Bad.

lalsub said...

Edited, improved.

Murali said...

Enjoyed reading the post! :D I like that book store too. Interesting to note that Bangalore has a nice little website.