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Odyssey on First Main Road, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, is a favourite
haunt of not only the literati, but also the trendy crowd. Every
available space is filled with books, magazines, gifts, toys, stationery,
music cassettes and CDs, multimedia packs and greeting cards.
 According
to the store’s Director, T S Ashwin, when Odyssey was
started in 1995, only books were sold. But given the fact that the
store is located in the heart of the residential area of Adyar,
toys and gifts were added to increase the store’s appeal with
families. But, he asserts, the focus of the store is still ‘books’.
So, naturally, Odyssey has an exhaustive collection of books, ranging
from reference books to fiction, from religion and philosophy to
humour, all neatly organised under different sections.
 The
only store to bring the world-famous Hornby train-sets to
Chennai, Odyssey has carved a niche for itself in the city toy scene.
Recently it has also introduced another imported game – Faller’s
landscaping, which is a hobby-set, for building landscapes and miniature
architectural models. Toys occupy a big chunk of the store’s
area, with all kinds of board games, card games, learning aids,
and toys for all age groups.
 The
store is a big hit with kids and hence a huge crowd-puller with
regard to families. Ashwin puts it simply, “Kids are our
largest and most loyal customer base.”
With this large following of kids, the store has been approached
by Global Adjustments, with a plan to introduce “Potter
About” on Sundays on its premises, where kids can paint on
ceramic items, which will later be fired and given to them.
A wide variety of gifts ranging from trinkets to perfumes and watches
are available, matched by a wonderful collection of greeting cards,
stationery, music and multimedia CDs.
 In
September 2000, Odyssey sponsored the first-ever ‘Scrabble
Championship’ in the city, conducted in collaboration with
the Scrabble Club of Chennai. With the encouraging response shown
by Scrabble enthusiasts for the tournament, Ashwin hopes to sponsor
the event this year too, if everything works out ok.
Odyssey also has contests and promo events happening all the time;
the Christmas and Valentine’s Day related events are looked
forward to with great enthusiasm by its regulars.
Address: Odyssey, Dev Regency, 6, First Main Road,
Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, Chennai – 600 020.
Telephone: 442 0393, 440 2264/5
Working Hours: 10 a.m. to 8.30 p.m.
Open all days of the week.
Author : Vidya Sigamany
Photographs : V Ganesan |
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