Raju's Rare book store

Everyday is Sunday for me" said Mr. Govinda Raju with a loud laughter which eventually caused him to cough when he acknowledged my so called polite statement "sorry to bother you on a Sunday morning ". He has converted his car -shed in to a second hand book store. The shop was closed when we went there . He came down wearing a white shirt and a shorts with his hands holding the umbrella folded behind his back after I called his mobile number which was displayed on the door. He was thoroughly inspecting his small garden as he was walking toward us. The fragrance of paper and old books rushed out to please my nose as he opened the shop. It doesn't work like a regular book store, where you walk-in and ask someone for a particular section and look for a book . If you have a book or author or genre in mind , you just have to tell it to him , he will only say if he has the book or not. The browsing , you have to do.
He has been collecting books as a hobby and selling them for many years now. The place has one wooden chair where he sits and a couple of stools hiding under a pile of books. I spent 2 hours there and dusted out 4 books. I never felt the pain of standing for 2 hours as we lost track of time in our conversation. You can talk to him about anything and he will have something to say about it.

"Why don't you get a volunteer to organise the books??" I asked him as if he wouldn't have thought about it. He simply replied " they are just the way I want them to be ! "

Rare book shop is in R.A puram second main road . If you are someone who defies "best sellers" listed by online sites and looking for offbeat places to see in Chennai, you must not miss this place!