Galgotia’s Bookstore in Noida is the Stuff of Our Nerdy Dreams

Our Noida Insider tells us why Galgotia’s is the place we go to buy books and reminisce about times gone by.

I stood in a queue here at 6.30am to grab my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Galgotia’s was the bookshop of my childhood, a treasure trove of stories stored between shelves in a dimly-lit shop, where I would buy my book for the week.

I have always found bookshops charming, and the hallowed halls of Galgotia’s Bookstore, spread over three floors will always remain an integral part of my childhood memories. Today, a jewellery shop has replaced it, with the bookshop being reduced only to the basement.

As I navigated the once-familiar steps to the basement, I could spot traces of what once used to be piles and piles of stationery items and books. The store might not be as fancy as it once was, but it is well-maintained. Lucklily, though the space has reduced drastically, their collection continues to be eclectic and well-updated.

From fiction to children’s books, academic titles to non-fiction work, the stock at Galgotia’s is decent. They have a good collection of stationery items as well. Child-like handwriting on chart paper stuck on the shelf-tops will tell you that there’s a discount on all items.

A shop assistant {who’s been here since the beginning} told me that profits from the bookstore weren’t enough to sustain the magnificent three-storey shop, which is why they’re down to just the basement. The increasing rents in the posh Sector 18 market didn’t help their case either. It is not that people aren’t reading—he smiles and tells me—just that online websites are major competition, and the awkward location of the shop isn’t helpful.

“Share with your friends about the shop, we’re the oldest one in Noida”, he says smilingly as he hands me my packet of books. While online book shopping fetches us heavy discounts, nothing can replace the feeling of walking into the musty environs of a bookshop, browsing titles, and inhaling that new book-smell.

Let’s start visiting bookstores more often. And this one for sure.