Decresing reading habits take toll on bookshops in Srinagar

Srinagar, Apr 27: Srinagar one of the oldest bookshops, ‘Bestseller’, has closed its doors permanently—bringing to an end over 30 year-old legacy.

Just a stone’s throw from the iconic Lal Chowk clock tower, ‘Bestseller’ was never just a bookstore. For decades, it stood as a sanctuary for readers, a cultural hub, and a place where stories lived not just between pages but in the people who came and stayed. But on a quiet Friday, Saniyasnain broke the news: it was time to say goodbye.

“Online shopping didn’t just change the market—it changed the reader,” Saniyasnain Chiloo told Greater Kashmir. “Loyal readers were never the issue. But after Flipkart and Amazon came in, people started ordering books online with huge discounts, delivered right to their homes. Why would anyone deal with traffic or parking when a phone tap is all it takes?”

Beyond competition, Sani pointed to something deeper- a generational and cultural shift. “Reading isn’t what it used to be. Before, people read for peace, reflection, knowledge. Now, it’s more about quick info—if at all. Instagram reels and food vlogs have replaced real books.”

Bestseller was founded in the 1980s by Sanaullah Chiloo, and his son Sani took over in 2017 with a fresh vision—revamping the store’s interiors and broadening its collection to include literary and classical fiction, non-fiction, Kashmiri history, Islamic literature, ecology, and rare poetry.

It wasn’t just a bookshop; it was a treasure trove. Students, researchers, and casual readers could find titles nearly impossible to locate anywhere else in the valley. From the diwans of Sahir Ludhianvi and Saagar Siddiqui to Patras Bukhari’s essays, from rare Sufi texts to full sets of O. Henry and Arthur Conan Doyle—the store was a literary labyrinth.

Faizan Bhat, a long-time customer and now writer said. “I’ve been coming here since 8th grade—17 years. Sanaullah uncle treated us like family. We got discounts, and sometimes we took books on credit. For me, this shop wasn’t just a place to buy books—it was home.”

One of the long-time said that it was the only complete bookstore in Kashmir—fiction, politics, poetry, philosophy, history—it had everything. “Sani would go out of his way to help. He once bought rare books for me while traveling outside the Valley.”

Even from distant Kargil, readers like Bashir Ahmad mourned the loss. “I’ve been getting books from there for eight years. Their collection and service were unmatched. It’s heartbreaking.”

But this closure is more than a single store shutting down—it signals a fading cultural rhythm in Srinagar. A once-vibrant reading culture seems to be slipping away.“Yaqoob Booksellers became a bakery,” Sani said. “Other big names like Presentation Books, Global Books, Lords, Book Vision, Shah Book Store—they’re all gone. Soon, bookstores here will only exist in memory or online articles.”

The grief was palpable on social media too. Sajad Rasool, a reader, shared:“I went to Lal Chowk to buy books for my father—what I found instead was silence. Books being packed up, shelves bare. A space that once echoed with conversation and thought now just echoes.”

He added, with quiet irony: “Srinagar now has more cafes than ideas. Fewer bookshops, more cappuccinos. Maybe that’s who we are now.” With Bestseller’s closure, Srinagar doesn’t just lose a bookstore—it loses a piece of its soul.