Bahrisons Booksellers, the now-iconic bookstore that first opened in New Delhi’s Khan Market in 1953, has marked its entry into the south with its first store in Hyderabad. Aashna Malhotra, a third generation member of the founding family, takes in the sight of nearly five lakh books at the store in Jubilee Hills that opened on January 14, and says, “More books will be arriving soon.”
An extensive curation of popular titles across categories — crime thrillers, literary fiction, non-fiction and poetry greets visitors. Aashna explains that these titles have been curated with an understanding of customers’ preferences in their stores in other cities. The curation is likely to change as the founders and the staff gauge the reading preferences of Hyderabad.
The history of this bookstore has its roots in India’s Partition in 1947. Balraj Bahri Malhotra, a 19-year-old, fled Malakwal with his family and found refuge in a camp in New Delhi. A few years later, in 1953, he founded Bahrisons Booksellers. Chronicle of a Bookstore, written by his son Anuj Bahri and granddaughter Aanchal Malhotra, offers curious readers a brief history of the store and how the family built the legacy one book at a time.
A glimpse of the Hyderabad store of Bahrisons Booksellers
| Photo Credit:
Sangeetha Devi
Aashna, Anuj Bahri’s daughter and Aanchal’s sister, recalls, “My grandfather was at the bookstore until his final days. Since the initial years, he followed the practice of noting down titles requested by customers in a book. During the lunch break, he would venture out to buy these books for customers. In all our stores, we maintain a book to keep track of customer requests. A keen engagement with customers helps us retain the ethos of a family-run independent bookstore even as the business grows.”
Bahrisons has stores in New Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Dehradun, and Indore and is eyeing expansion in the near future. Shelfeebooks, their partner brand of bookstores, caters to school and college-going readers.
Over the years, independent bookstores such as AA Husain & Co, Gangarams and more recently Walden closed down in Hyderabad. Post pandemic, new bookstores such as Luna Books and Off The Shelf attract readers alongside seasoned players such as Akshara Books and M.R. Book Centre, among others.
Aashna is pleased with the warm reception to the store by eager customers who have been visiting the store. At Bahrisons, she says the intent is to neither remain too old school nor be an experiential luxury bookstore: “The design of our store is non-flashy. My father, with the help of an architect, planned the layouts for all our stores such that the books are in focus.” Arched wooden shelves are designed such that despite the large collection of books, the store does not appear cluttered.
A room stocks classics for those who seek collector’s editions, another is dedicated to coffee table books, and a large room stocks books on spirituality, philosophy, business, economics and a range of titles for children and young adults. The store has a limited selection of Hindi and Telugu titles to begin with, and hopes to expand this section soon.
Of late, despite the increased conversation about diminishing attention spans and addiction to digital screens, literary festivals and the annual Hyderabad book fair have consistently drawn enviable footfalls. For a bookstore, Aashna says it’s pivotal to keep the curation dynamic to offer something new for frequent visitors. “Around 10 to 15 years ago, we wondered if reading habits were going to go completely digital. However, we noticed how different formats co-exist. When people like something they have read on an e-reader or listened to as an audio book, they want to own a physical copy.”
She adds that the curation changes according to the customer profile in each of their stores. Their oldest store in Khan Market leans towards history, politics and international relations given its proximity to several foreign embassies. The Gurgaon store stocks Indian and international fiction and classics, aligning with readers’ preferences. “This is possible because members of our staff interact with customers and not mere managers,” says Aashna. She mentions how her parents are at the Khan Market store on a daily basis and glad to interact with customers.
This hands-on approach and value additions in the form of hosting conversations with authors at the stores and stocking copies signed by the authors, she says, gives bookstores an edge over online sellers. Bahrisons Hyderabad shares its space with Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters cafe at the Bungalow, making it feasible to host author meets in the near future.
Bahrisons also hosts podcasts with authors in video and audio format, available on YouTube and on popular audio podcast platforms.
(Bahrisons Booksellers is at the Bungalow, Plot no. 521, Road no.27, Aditya Enclave, Venkatagiri, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad)
Published – January 17, 2026 03:00 pm IST