Key points
- Old book stalls on footpaths attract scores every Sunday
- Vendor says young readers showing keen interest in philosophy
- The hustle and bustle at stalls continue till dusk
ISLAMABAD: Unlike the general perception among readers who usually prefer flocking to major bookshops in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, flourishes a rich culture of trading in old books.
So much so that vintage books, such as the 1785 edition of A Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, are available in these shops.
A treasure trove
Books are, undoubtedly, a treasure. Going by this phrase, we can rightly call an old bookshop—housed in the basement of a commercial building in Islamabad’s F-10 Markaz—a treasure trove for bookworms of all ages and backgrounds.
The shop is run by twenty-five-year-old Zain Ahmed: presenting a unique blend of the old and the young.
There are a few book outlets in Islamabad that solely deal in old and vintage books. Different from what is commonly believed that book reading culture is declining in Pakistan, these outlets—a paradise for book lovers—are doing good business.
Apart from these old bookshops in Islamabad, dozens of dealers display their old books on footpaths in Rawalpindi every Sunday.
This decades-old culture attracts a large number of visitors. People browse books themselves or seek help from vendors. If they find the book of their choice, the bargain starts. The prices, nevertheless, vary from book to book, with no hard-and-fast rules of sale and purchase.
The passion for book-reading culture eventually prevails.
The condition of the book; how old it is; and what is its current market value; generally, settle its price. But one thing is certain, presently the old books are not sold cheaply as was the trend in bygone eras. The dealers know their worth, and they demand a hefty amount for them.
Ahmed has around 50,000 books including old and vintage, some of them centuries old which are nothing else but a jackpot for any book collector. He also deals in original maps of the world printed in 1834.
For instance, Ahmed’s shop has a vintage book, A Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, authored by Anders Sparrman which was printed in 1785. This book has a price tag of Rs.195,000 ($701), the most expensive book at his outlet.
Likewise, Vicar of Wakefield, written by Oliver Goldsmith in the 18th century, is another vintage book displayed at his shop alongside a large number of vintage books, mostly in the English language.
Manuscripts
The prime collection of this book outlet also comprises two manuscripts of the holy Quran. Both are around 250 years old. The paper quality, calligraphic skills in Khat-e-Nastaliq—a handwriting style used in Persian, Urdu, and other languages that are written in the Arabic script—and bookbinding are exceptionally well which attract the attention of the visitors instantly.
The shop owner has placed this vintage collection next to his chair. He is asking for Rs. 175,000 ($624) for one manuscript and Rs. 160,000 ($572) for the other.
Generally, the composition of the paper and the bookbinding style reflect the age of the manuscript. Sometimes, they also bear the date in the Hijri or the Gregorian calendar.
Bookselling still a lucrative business
Ahmed who also deals in new books, is reluctant to buy into the common belief that book-reading culture is fading away.
“The shops’ rents in Islamabad are very high but despite that running a shop of old books still holds promising dividends for the owners.”
Usually, people from age six to age 30-plus visit his shop in large numbers, mostly in the evening and buy the books of their choice. The customers mostly prefer fiction books while the old book collectors try to find vintage books from his outlet.
Ahmed thinks that the old book collectors take into consideration several factors before buying an old book. The publishing date; is it the first edition; bookbinding quality; and some other things are minutely monitored when it comes to purchasing an old book.
Author-signed copy is another key factor which adds to the price of the old books.
The young bookseller is carefully observing a new phenomenon in the bookselling field. According to him, young readers are showing a keen interest in buying books on philosophy.
Regarding the origin of the old books, he says most of these books come in containers from different countries of the world which after going through a sorting process, become part of old bookshops across Pakistan.
This old book business is not confined to just F-10 Markaz alone. Some other sectors of Islamabad also have such outlets, including F-6, F-7 and F-11.
Makeshift bookshops
Similarly, some old book vendors are also doing good business in Rawalpindi—an adjacent city which is often referred to as a twin city. On every Sunday a makeshift old book market is established alongside footpaths, which turns into one of the prime destinations for the book lovers.
A few dozen vendors exhibit the collection of their old books on three major roads in Saddar including Haider Road, Bank Road and Kashmir Road alongside footpaths and in front of the shops which remain closed on Sundays.
Most of these vendors carry the books in grain sacks and display them in an uneven order. Often, the books of history are placed with books of fiction and the books of medical science can be traced out from the heap of autobiographies. Only a few vendors take the pain to keep books in proper order.
Fifty-five-year-old Abdullah Amir has been in this business for generations and now he and his sons display old books mostly on Haider Road every Sunday.
He says that around 60 vendors display their books in the Saddar area in Rawalpindi on Sundays and everyone can easily earn Rs.10,000 minimum for six to eight hours of work.
“I don’t see any hurdle to make Rs. 10,000 [around $36] every Sunday by every vendor if he got a good collection of books.
He agrees with Ahmed regarding the trend of book reading. People, he claims, still love reading books and “the area of Saddar provides them an opportunity to get the books of their choice.”
To substantiate his assertion, Amir states that he recently sold Naqsh-e-Chughtai—a painted edition of the Diwan-e-Ghalib for Rs. 25,000. Diwan-e-Ghalib is a poetry collection by a renowned 19th-century Urdu poet Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib.
“I had Chughtai’s Diwan-e-Ghalib which was illustrated by Abdur Rahman Chughtai and a book collector happily paid Rs. 25,000 [around $90] for it.”
Price tag goes up
A few years back these old books could be bought at relatively throw-away prices but the situation is different now. According to Amir, now book vendors also know the value of books in their collection and they charge the customers accordingly.
In comparison with the original copies and first edition of a book, pirated books and paperback books carry lower prices. Additionally, books having proper hard binding generally have a good price tag.
The hustle and bustle at these footpaths, which begins in the late morning, comes to an end before evening, only to start again on the following Sunday.
