Nalini Chettur sits outside her bookstore every afternoon, watching the world pass by. Look behind, and you will see a little room crammed with books from floor to ceiling and a pattamadai mat outside with her latest finds. At Giggles: The Biggest Little Bookshop, which began as a small bookstore inside the Vivanta by Taj Connemara in 1974, it is business as usual.
E-commerce has change bookstores forever. With even big chains like Landmark and Crossword shutting shop in Chennai, how does a store as niche as Giggles survive? Regularly visited by scholars, architects, scientists and the intellectual elite, not just to pick up a book but also for light-hearted conversations, Nalini says the reason she is still ‘hanging on’ is because of the service she provides. “I can’t give big discounts like the big giants online. But I give my regular customers 10 per cent off. The funny thing is, many ask me not to do that because they enjoy coming here and looking through my collection. I take a lot of interest in new books, read reviews, check with people and do my homework; whereas, on a website, you just see the book you want.”
In the last 40 years, the store has barely advertised. It continues to exist because of its loyal customers who spread the word. “I sell a lot of coffee-table books and what I is that others don't have too many of these. Budgeting is also important for a shop like mine. With online stores giving huge discounts and publishers also encouraging it to some extent, you have to be careful about what you keep in the store and in what quantity. You don’t need a shop to sell Chetan Bhagat, for example. In fact, a lot of publishers tell me I’m the only one who orders a certain kind of books in the whole country.”
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But has the number of customers diminished over time? “Well, formerly a lot of film stars used to come here but now they don’t. But I continue to have an eclectic clientele. There are those who come and observe the books here but buy them online. I don’t encourage them for most part.” Then, she hesitates a little before adding, “You know, I feel sorry for my customers for losing out on the discounts. But they tell me they enjoy this process better.”