Earthcare Books is one of the most unique and vibrant bookstores you’ll ever come across in Kolkata. Come here for a range of books you won’t find anywhere else.
Set up by husband and wife duo Bharat and Vinita Mansata, Earthcare focuses on books that cover ecological issues. One of its bestsellers is the bible on natural farming — One Straw Revolution by Japanese farmer-philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka (who has visited the store, btw!).
They are also a publishing house. Among their stable of writers are Jeremy Seabrook, twice an Orwell Prize nominee, and Bharat Mansatta himself, who penned one of the shop’s bestsellers, The Vision of Natural Farming.
Their handpicked collection of books are a big draw for the discerning in the city and even with visitors from foreign shores who have heard or read about Earthcare. Check out the framed B&W photos that capture Kolkata, all taken by Irishman Thomas Patrick Kiernan who has been capturing the city since the 1990s. Plus their children’s section is one of the best in the city. One of the sections stocks a range of handmade bags, wooden toys, ceramic fridge magnets and organic skincare.
The space has a cosy, lived-in feel, with arched doorways to different sections, and bamboo and rattan furniture. When you are here, you have to chalk in the freewheling conversations you can have with Vinita and Bharat, and Parvez, Shankar and Noor (who look after the cafe when the owners are in Mumbai, their second home).