Champaca Bookstore, Cunningham Road, Bangalore

Rekindle your love affair with books and spend a day leisurely reading away and enjoying healthy, hearty eats surrounded by lush greenery in this enchanting bookstore cafe!

It’s been a while since I last spent time browsing titles in an independent bookstore, and even longer since I plopped down in the store itself on a comfortable seat and read them while the hours passed by. These days (over a decade, honestly) I’ve given in to the convenience of downloading e-books and devouring them in classes, during any commute, and even bedtime. Titles neatly sub-categorized under genres available online – like 19th C. spy thrillers under Fiction, or improving productivity under Self-Help  – have become echo chambers within which we’re able to locate and consume very specific types of books, one after the other and confining yourself to those advertised and highly rated. Entering institutions such as Blossoms in Bangalore where thousands of books are stacked on shelves for one to discover – some glossy and fresh from printing, some well-loved and aged, make you realize that something precious is lost in the process of growing up and becoming an adult with your share of responsibilities and goals. There’s a certain sadness in the realization that you no longer regularly look at shelves of books in a library with awe and excitement, knowing that you will read most of the books over a period of time and the only decision is making that order of preference. So, after one such visit and a conscious avowal to re-cultivate the habit of reading, I decided to check out this independent bookstore recommended to me by my friend.

Champaca is a gem tucked away at the cul-de-sac of the queenly heritage-villa studded Edward Road, which is off Cunningham Road and a short walk from the Cubbon Park metro station. It is a bookstore, library and cafe at the top floor of Cadvent villa transformed into a cosy reading room with lots of air and natural sunlight which filters in through the surrounding lush greenery. It overlooks an orchard with large avocado trees, and has several small potted plants adding colour to the room.

The collection itself is composed of a couple of thousand books, neatly arranged by genre carefully composed by the owners. There are lots of old favourites to reacquaint yourself with, as well as new books to discover in the shelves, perhaps with the help of the friendly and knowledgeable owner Radhika. Each book in this store has been handpicked, and the collection strives to ensure a platform to minority voices from the North East, South Asian, LBGTQ+, Black, sub-altern and regional writers. Also noteworthy is the quality of each book. In this bruising climate for publishing where printing costs are rising as revenues from those sales are dwindling, several large publishers are printing in mass paperback format which compromises on the quality of the paper and cover, making books less durable. Radhika explained while they do have a few of those paperbacks (good for those who love collecting books at affordable rates), the store pays attention to the quality of the hand-picked titles. I was happy to find a sturdy copy of Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence.

You can browse through the selection, grab your book and commence reading, or purchase it, order something to eat, work on your laptop and just enjoy the quaint cafe bookstore ambience.

 

There is also a specially curated menu with gourmet, hearty feel-good dishes and baked goodies using plenty of local produce. The menu is small: soups, salads, sandwiches, breakfast bowls, juices yet elaborate with “hummus of the day”, “pulled pork tacos”, “avocado toast” and the like. The portion sizes run large and all items are affordably priced in the Rs. 100-350 range. I ordered a Sri Lankan red lentil soup with coconut yogurt and sambal which was served with 2 slices of sour dough toast for a late lunch, and it was quite tasty and filling.

Champaca provides a perfect little haven to immerse yourself in books when you’re craving some peace and quiet, and is a wonderful place to introduce to your reader friends!