Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 9 Oct: World Bookshop Day, observed on 10 October celebrates independent bookshops, booksellers and local reading communities. The occasion recognises the cultural significance of neighbourhood bookshops, their contribution to community well-being, and their role in fostering a lifelong love of reading. This year, Natraj: The Green Bookshop in Dehradun will celebrate the occasion with Love Your Bookshop Weekend on October 10 and 11. The two-day celebration will feature a selection of fast-selling titles on display and sale at special weekend discounts.
The initiative invites residents of Dehradun to visit the bookshop, explore its collection and rediscover the pleasure of browsing through books. It also seeks to encourage more people to make reading a part of their everyday lives and support independent bookshops that contribute to the city’s cultural landscape. Beyond being places to buy books, independent bookshops act like spaces for conversation and the exchange of ideas, bringing readers and writers together while keeping local literary cultures alive.
Addressing the media, Upendra Arora, owner of Natraj: The Green Bookshop, said that the weekend was an opportunity to draw attention to the enduring importance of books, especially now at a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing rapidly.
“During Love Your Bookshop Weekend, we want residents to rediscover the value of books and the role our bookshop can play in their lives, particularly against the mindless and potentially disastrous trajectory of AI and how it is transforming people’s access to information, communication, and creating content. AI no doubt can help us create, experiment, visualise, animate and bring ideas to life. But the fundamental part of being human, i.e. our ideas, curiosity, judgement, and imagination, should still come from us. That is where books can help readers develop the art of thinking clearly,” he said.
We have to be mindful of the difference between accessing instant information and developing the ability to think independently. Unlike the consumption of bite-sized digital content, the very process of reading requires a lot of patience and attention. The readers engage with unfamiliar perspectives, allowing ideas to unfold rather than instant answers. It also allows readers to question assumptions and existing norms and helps in developing their own understanding of the world. In an increasingly automated world, books and reading help cultivate these qualities that are essential to nurturing independent thought, intellectual curiosity and informed judgement.
Love Your Bookshop Weekend also highlights the importance of independent bookshops as community spaces. They offer readers opportunities to discover authors and subjects they might not otherwise encounter, and share their enthusiasm for books with others. Through this initiative, Natraj: The Green Bookshop hopes to encourage residents to celebrate books, support independent bookselling and make time for reading. The weekend is an invitation to step away from screens, experience your neighbourhood brick-and-mortar bookstore, explore the printed page and the simple pleasure of finding a book worth taking home.
