It was in April, 1993, that Kalanidhi Maran’s Sun TV Network waltzed into Chennai. Offering a bouquet of over 30 channels, it made family drama and exaggerated emotion, a ritualistic constant in many city homes, drawing people away from old, familiar pleasures, especially books.
“Our business fell by almost 60% that year,” says P Satish, who runs the Easwari Lending Library chain in Chennai, along with his father, N Palani and brother, P Saravanan. However, the lure of books has now returned with a vengeance, “A lot of ladies, who watch serials, have come back to books,” says Satish, waving goodbye to a customer who is leaving with a hefty heist of comics and magazines.
But, the story of the library stretches all the way back to 1955, when Palani, the owner of a scrap business, began separating and keeping, interesting books that came his way. “Look, that is where my shop used to be,” says the fragile-looking octogenarian, pointing to a tiny vegetable shop, across Avvai Shanmugam Salai on Lloyds Road, where the current head-office of Easwari Lending Library is located. A bibliophile himself, Palani’s favourite book is Kalki Krishnamurthy’s Ponniyin Selvan. However, he entered the library business rather reluctantly. “Someone saw his collection of books and asked if he could borrow one,” laughs Satish. At first, Palani refused, but when he offered a caution deposit to take and read that book, he agreed. It began from there, says Satish.
Palani recounts the names of the people who have visited the library with pride. The list includes Rajinikanth, VV Giri, Vairamuthu and Kamal Haasan. “Chandilyan used to spend a lot of time here,” he says, with a slight smile, as he remembers the elderly, traditionally-dressed writer flitting between the library’s bookshelves.
Dunstan Lyons, who has been coming to Easwari since 1969, remembers it as a smaller shop. He visited it often to pick up James Carter, Enid Blyton and Commando comics. “I live in Perambur but I come here because I love books,” says Lyons. He owns a Kindle too, but he prefers to come here because, “I love the smell and texture of books. You don’t get that on an e-reader.”
Dr Shireen, who works at Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre down the road, is another old-timer and a loyal visitor at Easwari’s. “I began coming here because I studied at Sacred Heart Matriculation School (Church Park) which is very close to the library. I still come, every other day,” she laughs.
Changing times
Much has changed in the ensuing years, both for the better and worse. The library has grown exponentially. Today, it has eight branches all over the city and around 45,000 members, and has a strong online presence. Easwari has also set up libraries in gated colonies and clubs, and offers door-to-door delivery service. They plan to roll out a new concept soon — called the Soul House. “We can help customers set up a mini-library in their own house by providing them with a collection of 30 to 40 books. These will be refreshed every month,” says Satish.
However, their operating costs have increased exponentially. It is difficult to manage labour, rent and electricity today. The book ecosystem has changed considerably too. “Few people read the classics, for instance. And children don’t read books by authors such as Richmal Crompton or Enid Blyton any more,” he says, showing me a shiny, plastic-filmed copy of what is the new favourite — Elisabetta Dami’s Geronimo Stilton series.
Women continue to hanker for romance novels, though, he smiles, “I have an 85-year-old lady who reads Mills & Boon romances even today. So we continue to stock a lot of those.”
