Book-Signing at Higginbothams, Chennai!

A stack of books and a nice ballpoint pen are all that an author needs …

… oh! And a friendly, helpful store manager. In this case, Mr Murali at the 116 Anna Salai Branch of the 180-year old store.

I went there today at 5.30 pm, chaperoned by my sister*. We were both thrilled to enter an actual bookstore, with rows and rows of shelves, mile-high ceilings, wonderful lighting and lots of helpful staff.

*[I have TWO sisters; but all members of my family avoid being exposed to my online life, so I spare them whenever and in whatever way I can.]

This was not an “event” in the sense of, no actual invitees or crowds of loyal fans (haha). But Mr Murali had already assured me that there would be no chores aside from signing books so I wasn’t expecting to do a reading, dance a jig or stand on my head. When a very dear friend and family member braved the afternoon traffic to come in, that was an absolute bonus and delight! And of course we all three bought books.

Between signing a stack of my own titles (see photograph!) Mr Murali regaled us with interesting stories about the book trade. Higginbotham’s has been around since 1844 and is credited with being India’s oldest continuously operating bookstore. They used to be famous for their wonderful little booths at the railway stations but, alas, these are no more. Aside from the huge selection of titles in English, they are very well stocked with Tamil literature and a large children’s section.

It was a very pleasant and enjoyable interaction, organised by Mr Murali and Mr Thiagarajan P (who took all the photographs – there are many more – but I will spare the readers of this post from over-exposure to my manic grin) of Hachette India.