A cosy basement is an unlikely meeting place for characters from Marvel, Mahabharata and manga. No wonder this library is an elixir for pop culture followers, says Marisha Karwa
A spiral staircase leads to a room plastered with visual art from comic books: Calvin and Hobbes, Batman and the Joker, characters from manga (iconic Japanese graphic novels) line up snugly over cushions depicting Superman & co. The floor-to-ceiling shelves are stacked with the same kind of books — graphic novels from every place imaginable. This is where (Amar Chitra Katha's) Mirabai meets Gandhi: A Manga Biography, Mahabharata's Arjuna rubs shoulders with Captain America and where Guy Delisle's Pyongyang: A Journey into North Korea poses next to Josh Neufeld's AD: New Orleans After the Deluge.
Welcome to Leaping Windows, a library dedicated exclusively to manga and graphic novels.
"The biggest myth is that graphic novels are for kids," say founders Bidisha Basu and Utsa Shome unanimously, recommending Craig Thompson's coming-of-age book Blankets and Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese as myth-busting reads. "If people spend some time here, they'll understand that it's not only for children."
Driven by their passion for graphic novels and manga and equally by the fact that graphic novels were an expensive hobby, the duo started Leaping Windows online as a lending library in June 2010, offering deliveries and pick-ups across the city. Two years later, in 2012, they moved the books from their home into the basement of a Versova building, which also houses the Leaping Windows cafe that the couple run with their chef and partner Prathamesh.
"A lot of people want to come here once just to see the place and feel the books before investing in a library membership," says 36-year-old Basu. "Also, it's different when you are searching for a book on the website. That is a targeted search and robs you of the joy of discovery."
On the bookshelves
From 1,500-odd books in 2010 to more than 5,000 books now, Leaping Windows houses a veritable collection. For every collection of Tintin, Superman, Thor and Wolverine, there's an equally voluminous compendium of Astroboy, Monster, Usagi Yojimbo and Case-Closed, Detective Conan. Throw in works by Joe Sacco (Footnotes in Gaza, Journalism), Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis), Frank Miller (Sin City), Will Eisner (The Contract with God), Sarnath Bannerjee (The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers, The Harappa Files), Tite Kubo (Bleach), Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball) and you have an eclectic collection of reading material from across cultures and genres.
Shome says that they add about 10-20 books to the collection every month and that a shopping spree has been long over due (they haven't added new titles ever since their Bengaluru outpost shut last year and those books were added to the collection in Mumbai). Sourcing books has become much easier than it was in 2010 when the only online outlet was Flipkart, says Basu. The new titles they add are based on the couple's reading lists, wishlists from members and from a selection of graphic novel-related websites and blogs. "And of course, friends who are comic nerds but don't want to be called comic nerds," laughs the 38-year-old former lawyer Shome.
Keeping books
While Leaping Windows is a haunt for graphic novel fans, the library faces the same issue as the rest of the publishing and related ventures. More and more people are reading online, but not enough are reading 'physical' books. This is why the Leaping Windows cafe subsidises the library business. "Not everybody reads, but everybody eats," says Shome. "We always knew that the cafe was something that would make us more (money)."
Leaping Windows has thousands of members on Facebook and about 450 active members living as far away as in Mulund, Dahisar and Colaba. "A lot of people who come to the cafe end up buying memberships but seldom use it. Dud memberships are annoying," rues Basu. "I'd be happy to see members make the most of their membership — it doesn't matter then if they are kids or adults."
A majority of its members are in the 22-35 age group. "We've even had members who were over 60," reveals Basu. "Most members are dedicated readers. And then there are those who come every weekend and spend the day here reading."
News you can use
1) For first-time members, Leaping Windows subscription ranges from Rs1,800-4,800. They deliver and pick up books across the city. Log on to: www.leapingwindows.com
2) If you don't want to become a member, you can use the library as a reading room, for Rs50 per hour.
3) Find Leaping Windows cafe and comic library at 3, Corner View, Off Yari Road, Opp Bianca Towers, Versova, Andheri West. Call: 9769998972
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