Launched in the mid-2000s, Kunzum Books is one of Delhi’s ‘new’ bookstore chains. It has four branches all over the National Capital Region—each, snazzy, modern and spacious. The outlet at Greater Kailash II, spread over four floors, houses books of various genres – the classics, Indian fiction, comics, graphic novels, young adult fiction and non-fiction. A small café counter, as Kunzum regulars know, serves coffee and cookies. But it is the third and the fourth floors with mid-sized theatres hosting a multitude of programmes throughout the year, that have set it apart from most bookshops in Delhi. A Shailendra evening. Tango for couples. Calligraphy...How is any of this the business of a bookshop? More so with several garment stores and cafés nearby having set up a supplementary bookstore or a book corner along with its primary retail trade for customers.
Owner Ajay Jain is working to a plan. Kunzum’s activities are aimed at differentiating it from such shops. “I want to increase readership. My focus is totally on selling books,” he says. In fact, Kunzum has a policy so that people don’t mistake it to be a coffee shop with a bookstore, rather than a bookstore that sells coffee. “We are not here to sell croissants, muffins and coffee. The coffee is on the house if you buy a book. You also get a coupon for coffee if you buy a book. In case you do not wish to have coffee on that very day, you can cash it later. But coffee is not for sale, books are,” he explains.
Similarly, when events are organised, importance is given to customers who buy books. Only those events are held where curious customers milling around is not a hindrance to those performing.
Kunzum’s current incarnation has evolved from the owner’s life choices. After having completed his engineering and MBA degree, Jain worked in the IT industry which he left to study journalism. He has since dabbled in freelance travel writing, sports management, blogging, and photography. In 2007, when he was at a personal and professional crossroads, he travelled to the Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh. He remembers losing his way in the cold desert with no hope for help. “There were no road signs and I had not seen a human being for hours,” he recounts.
It was only after driving for a long stretch that he saw a road sign pointing to Kaza, his destination. “That spot that I was standing on, almost 15,000 metres above the sea, with clear blue skies with snowcapped peaks all around, was Kunzum La. That is why I named my blog Kunzum,” he narrates. Gradually, his blog gave way to the Kunzum Travel Café, where Jain’s photography and the books he wrote, were displayed. With free Wi-Fi and a pay-what-you-like coffee counter, the Kunzum Travel Café was a hit; it began to host events all around the year.
After the pandemic shut down all outdoor spaces, the café had to be rethought. Although the new avatars are bookstores, it has retained the core of the Kunzum Travel Café. “What is now Kunzum Books is just Kunzum Travel Café, with a bookstore around it,” Jain explains. Has he taken any pointers from famous bookstores in a city that has known even famous ones like Fact and Fiction and The Bookworm to shut down? Jain says he knows what he does not want Kunzum to be. He says he has steered clear of creating a bookstore that is transactional in nature, where customers pick up books, pay for them and leave. “These bookstores are cramped, the aisles are narrow and books are falling all over the place. You can’t discover books there,” he says.
His idea for a spacious place of comfort stems from his childhood. “My father was a civil engineer, so we lived in government houses. We grew up in the ’70s and the ’80s when power cuts were common, so we know the value of natural light and how it’s essential for a place,” he explains. Apart from that, community-building is important for Kunzum’s owner. The room and the events should facilitate conversation within the Kunzum community, he says.
According to Jain, the curation of books plays an important part in how successful a bookstore is. Kunzum has dedicated sections on environment, tech and LGBTQIA+ .“It is not that other bookstores do not have similar titles. But the way you curate them, the way you draw attention to these books is important. Sometimes, our events are organised in the same way. We have partnered with Ruth Vanita, an author who writes on LGBTQIA+ themes. We are also partnering with an LGBTQIA+ lit festival in November,” he says.
The Kunzum ‘difference’ is also seen in the way they think of community. The goal is to amplify the concept of community that goes beyond physical bookstores. For instance, the Kunzum Book Club, which is a pan-India initiative, will facilitate the bringing of people together, curating reading lists and organising events, even when the Kunzum team is not physically present. “I know I am a small player but if I can be influential within my own circle, and promote the value of personal development and growth, it will be an achievement for me,” Jain says.