The pick of books in Select
 A
book lover will know what bliss it is to have a bed of books but no
room to sit down! Well, the books at the Select Book Shop are
stacked in a casual fashion - with no merit given to order or to tidiness.
“I have not arranged them in any order because I like to come across
unexpected surprises” says Mr K K S Murthy, the unassuming
possessor of the legacy called Select Book Shop.
When I told him that I am from a website, his response was “A Website?
Why would a website need to cover a book store?” He expressed his initial caginess about
this interview. I could
understand the bewilderment – websites are mushrooming in all places
and supposedly depriving books of their rightful regulars. Assertively
though, he says later on, “Despite all the CD ROMs and cassettes,
I have not an inkling of doubt about the future of the printed word.”
How did it start?
Fifty-five years ago, K B K Rao, (Mr Murthy’s father) a lawyer,
disillusioned with his profession, took asylum in his books. A shop
with a rare collection of second hand books for sale was opened on
Museum Road and then later shifted to M G Road. Learned
scholars such as C V Raman, Ruskin Bond and the like used to
frequent this bookshop on every one of their visits to the city. Ruskin
Bond still keeps in touch with Mr Murthy through letters. However,
it seemed that the father and son had similar fates etched out when
Mr Murthy gave up a successful career as an aeronautics engineer to
turn to book collection.
 This
outlet has a rare collection of books on Indian religion written by
non-Indians. “American Scholars have tackled Indian topics such
as religion that haven’t been covered otherwise. Writers such as Frithof
Schuon have covered Indian religion in an unusual angle,” opines
Mr Murthy. These invaluable books are not present in the stands of
the well-known books stalls, but very much available at the Select
Book Shop.
The Select Book Shop now also undertakes publishing of books. Mr Murthy
proudly says “We have published the last work of Dr Anand Kumar
Swamy’s - ‘Time and Eternity’, ‘Language Of The Self’ by FrithOf
Schuon, religious books such as ‘Understanding Islam’, ‘Treasures
of Buddhism’ and ‘Organised
games for the playground’ by Robert S Wood” (Shows me the
book).
Mr
Murthy is disappointed that the translation of classics such as ‘Alice
in Wonderland’ and ‘Through
the Looking Glass’ by Lewis Carol and ‘Aesop’s Fables’ into regional languages such
as Kannada and Telugu are not available. “Why in English? Why not
in their own mother tongue?” questions Mr. Murthy.
 Mr
Murthy’s main aspiration is to promote right values in the youngsters
and this he feels can be transmitted through books. He is of the opinion
that books such as ‘Srimad Bhagvatham’ and ‘Mahabharatha’
by Rajagopalacharya will help inculcate good values in them.
He comments sadly “I am afraid that the youngsters are forgetting
Gandhiji.”
Mr Murthy feels that his shop’s prized collection is the first editions
of writers like Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy
and manuscripts. Incidentally, he adds, “Srikantadatta
Wodeyar son of former Maharaja of Mysore also visits my shop.”
He feels that the strength of his bookstore lies in their collection
of literature books and says, “There is a large amount of turnover
in literature; religion and philosophy come next.”
Books specific to Bangalore city which are on the stands of the
Select Book Shop are ‘Architectural Approach to Bangalore’, ‘City
Beautiful’ – published by the Urban Art Society, ‘ Bangalore Through
Centuries’ by Fazlul Hassan and Maya Jaypal’s books.
His clientele includes both the old and the young. He feels that he
has got recognition through word of mouth and also through his father’s
blessings.
I
slipped-up by enquiring casually that since he has taken the store
over from his father will his son will take over from him!? My apologetic
expression over the blunder reminded him of his father’s words “I
don’t know why people think that I am going to retire. I won’t.
I will simply wear away while working. This is exactly what happened,
when he passed away he hadn’t retired!” Predictably, Mr. Murthy
wants to follow suit!
Mr
Murthy, an avid reader himself, is presently pitched on to Jumpha
Lahiri’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, ‘Interpreter of Maladies’.
His other tastes in books include Anton Tchekhov, whose style
he likes, Catherine Mansfield’s line of mysteries and Classics
such as Katha Sagar.
He
also has plans of holding art exhibitions for the benefit of young
artists who cannot pay to hold exhibitions in 5-star hotels. Readings
of poetry are also in the offing. He wants to turn this into a meeting
ground for not only lovers of books, but also to exhibit paintings
of young artists. This indeed is a laudable step towards promoting
art and artists by a man who never dreamt of making this his vocation
in the first place!
For more information contact :
Select Book Shop, #71, Brigade Road, Bangalore - 560 001.
Phone: 558 0770
By Sonali Hegde
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