Paharganj is an antique trunk, full of treasures. A lot is hidden in it. The trunk (sandook) is painted with conversations, memories, moments from around the globe. Some old shops, some new cafes, some new hotels, some old books, fill it up to the fullest.
As we open it and start exploring, we see varieties of cafes, from german to english bakery and Indian street food, from Aloo puri to Sitaram’s Chole Bhature, oldest Cinema houses, cart vendors selling bags and essentials, shops selling things made of Natural Hemp, street full of rickshaw-wallas, foreigners and dilli-wallas. You see phrases such as, ‘your ultimate destination for books, your journey for your favourite book ends here, books are your best friends’ in one of the treasured bookshops which finds its place in the corners of the Main street.
‘This is that bookshop’, my friend Abhinav says. That’s how we encounter the beloved world of second-hand books. ‘Jacksons Books’ is the name of the shop. I would like to call it the World’s bookshop. Deepak Kumar Dilani ji in his trademarked Army Cap, welcomes us by saying that this shop has the most diverse collection of books in almost 50+ Languages, which is indeed very interesting. The facade of the shop appears to be divided into two floors, and a ladder kept to step up in the universe of books, books and books.
East Africa 2003, Finland 2009, Argentina 2005 and mostly all foreign lands can be explored in India at this bookshop. A weight machine lies in the extended parts of the shop, to weigh second-hand books. It’s a treasure to find, I hope Deepak sir gives you a clue for it. Lonely Planet’s Lonely countries can be visited here too.
A passion for selling books and finding the most precious words of wisdom lies here.
Jacksons Shop was named after Deepak sir’s father’s name, Jai Kishan who was fondly called Jack by his foreigner friends, when he used to run a shop in Dilli’s heart, Connaught Place.
Deepak sir offered us tea, but I said, let’s keep it for next time, so that I get a chance to come back here again and immerse myself in the space of literature, fiction, non-fiction, history, languages, stories and so on.
In the end, what else can be better than witnessing two most dedicated Dilli’s booksellers, talking so affectionately about Books and living in this universe, where Words shape the World...most beautiful sight indeed, most treasured moment indeed.
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Thank you for being a part of my journey :')
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