The Bookshop is my happy place! - Bob

Hello, my dear friends! You would know me if you have ever visited the EBD Bookshop in Dehradun. After all, I am the main reason you come there. My name is Bob, and I am the cutest dog you will ever see. There came this girl in the Bookshop a few days ago, she called me a "soft toy". Now, that is sheer disrespect. I am very soft and sweet, but I am not a toy at all. In fact, I have a life of my own; I know how to talk and express my feelings. I know how to write and read; that is why I am in a bookshop in the first place. I am one of a kind. I love relaxing, calm, loud, and clear music. Oh please, don't be surprised; dogs have preferences too. 

Lately, I have been facing some back problems. Oh, how it hurts! I have to sit with a bent back and a sad face. I have been passing hints for a few days, but no one noticed until today.

One of the fellows at the Bookshop finally noticed my back pains, so they gave me the perfect remedy! They helped me stand up straight with the support of nothing else but a music system! Oh, how happy I was! And it was also my favourite colour, red! They fixed my problem and made me sit closest to the music system. The people are so caring and friendly. The Bookshop is indeed my happy place. Everything is perfect now, and I can relax again, enjoying the music and the bittersweet smell of coffee!

Bob 
EBD Bookshop Dehradun
( written by Rishona Chopra, School Captain My Good School)
Check out the bookshop https://englishbookdepot.com/

Quaint Little Bookshop - AI Chatbot

A short story
This is fiction, and any resemblance to any character or persona is just by chance; we did this to test an AI Chatbot and see how we could draft a story for a book. Shmooz AI is a WhatsApp bot based on GPT 3 model from OpenAI. 

Once upon a time, a quaint little bookshop was tucked away in the heart of Dehradun called The English Book Depot. It was owned by a young woman named Millie, who was passionate about books and deeply loved the English language.

The shop was small, with shelves of books overflowing onto the floor. It was a cosy place, with a warm ambience and the scent of freshly brewed coffee filling the air. Millie would often host readings and discussions at the shop, inviting people to come and share their thoughts on literature.

One day, a young writer named Rohan stumbled upon The English Book Depot. He had been struggling with writer's block for months and desperately needed some literary inspiration. He wandered through the shelves and soon found himself lost in the pages of a novel.

As he sat reading, sipping on a cup of coffee, Millie started conversing with him about the book he was reading. That conversation led to a friendship and eventually blossomed into something more. Rohan and Millie bonded over their love of literature and spent hours discussing their favourite books at the shop.

Over time, Rohan began to write again, finding the inspiration he needed within the walls of The English Book Depot. He even published his first novel, which Millie proudly displayed on a shelf in the shop. People would come from all over the city to visit the little bookshop, drawn in by Millie's welcoming vibe and passion for literature.

Years passed, and though the shop remained small, it had become a beloved fixture in the community. Millie continued to inspire people with her love of books, and The English Book Depot remained a haven for writers, readers, and literary enthusiasts alike.

Fun exercise, Shmooz AI and Grammarly work in tandem to put together this story!

Disclaimer: This post is purely for fun and a chatbot experiment. Please read as a piece of fiction, and the blogger and the authors take no responsibility for the content or the language generated via the AI Chatbot.

100-year-old Bookshop in Dehradun

The Drawing House now explores the rich book-reading culture in its hometown - Dehradun. And this new journey starts with 'THE ENGLISH BOOK DEPOT', a 100-year-old book shop in Dehradun, popularly known as 'BARISTA WALI BOOKSHOP'. Watch this amazing charcha about the history of his amazing bookshop.

Website: englishbookdepot.com Address: 15, Rajpur Rd, Ghanta Ghar, Chukkuwala, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001.

The producer of the video, Somya Mohan Sharma, decided to open this channel that can become the voice of all the industry artists and academics. With over ten years of experience working in the animation industry and in academics.

The beauty of bookshops - Rishona Chopra

                                                              When I enter a bookshop,

I see stories clinging onto shelves nonstop.

I want to look at every shelf,

Even the fantasy stories of an elf.

The environment makes me feel as if I should never leave,

Just sit down and read.

The cosy chairs,

Sad stories that shed tears.

Then I think,

I could have ordered books in a blink.

But it won't be as fun,

In the beautiful world of stories that has just begun!

"We are celebrating  years of the Bookstore and have set up a social space above the Bookstore. The Learning Forward India Foundation works to support schools and schooling with reading, writing, speaking and learning. #MyGoodSchool" - Sandeep Dutt at The English Book Depot.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School 

A brief history of our time - The English Book Depot at 100

Best is quite unreal, as better is the only way ahead! This debate about rewards, awards, and PR is never ending and will raise many hackles. The only single truth is there is no more immense exhilaration than the #JoyOfLearning - reading, writing and speaking.

Back from the Hyderabad Literary Festival, I am convinced that stories alone make us, and we are a story! We had storytellers, booksellers, librarians, artists, activists, sponsors and young people. A beautiful milieu to spread the joy of reading. Books in print, digital form, oral rendition and choreography. We are celebrating 100 💯 years of the Bookstore and have set up a social space above the Bookstore. The Learning Forward India Foundation works to support schools and schooling with reading, writing, speaking and learning. 

#MyGoodSchool My Good School - above The English Book Depot at Dehradun, visit this social space when you visit the city next city.

A brief history of our time

100 Years of The English Book Depot, opened at Ferozepur in 1923, moved to Dehradun post partition of India to finally call it curtains down at Ferozepur in 1989 when we exited. The place was then filled in by one of our long-serving stalwarts at the bookshop Sh Kewal Ji, who decided to run it for his family and livelihood as Kewal Book Depot at the exact location.

Message from respected Lila Dhar Dewan to Sandeep Dutt.

Your eldest uncle and my eldest cousin, the late Sh. Rattan Lal and I had decided to open our book shops in Dehradun and Pathankot, respectively. So we both selected books for our shops in 1948 from The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt on the same day. Both the parcels were booked by train the next day. My younger brother Radha Krishna had joined Army and, as such, was to stay far away from us. I would name my shop The English Book Depot as that would have benefited me financially. However, I sacrificed my financial benefits by calling my shop Krishna Book Depot so that his name remained with us throughout our lives.

Late L. Narain Dass, the founder of The English Book Depot, was a native of Jampur District Dera Gazi Khan, situated in the southwest end of Punjab (now in Pakistan) on the other bank of river  Sindh. A vegetarian wearing a simple dress of kameez pyjamas and enjoying a simple life. He was fond of taking fruits. Always baskets full of various kinds of fruits were there in his house. He was not only the founder of The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt and ran the shop to earn but made it a training centre in BOOK TRADE. He used to call youth from his native town and get a room on hire for their stay. He stood guaranty with the hotel for payment of their bills for the food taken by the trainees.

There was a small sale of school textbooks only at that time. Very few Indians read other kinds of books, such as novels etc. The customers of general types of books in English language only were British soldiers stationed at various cantonments all over India. Hence scope and demand for bookshops to sell such kinds of books were in Cantonments only.

Late Lala Narain Dass Ji used to select a cantonment for his trainee. He should have done so to earn money permanently from them by importing books from the U.K. to supply those to bookshops. But he was providing them with the supplier's addresses. He stood as a guarantee with the suppliers for the payment of their dues. Thus natives of Jampur spread all over India and established their bookshops. Later, such shops were opened in cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur etc.

All of them are financially sound and enjoying respectful life in their cities. The members of the third generation of the founders of those shops are running all those bookshops. I am skipping names of towns and cantonments for want of space. I was his last student learning book trade under him at his shop. Not only that. He kept me in his house, showering his (and my Massi jee) blessings, love and affection at par with their children. I opened my shop at Pathankot in December 1948 when The English Book Depot at Dehradun was also opened.

I knew Massan ji resigned from his Govt job in Lahore and founded The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt in 1923. However, I need to find out the name of the book depot. He learnt the art of book trade and got addresses of suppliers of these in U. K. as I needed help finding the name of any bookshop in North India during those days. He during his later age engaged himself in the service of humanity through Arya Samaj. He was honoured as the permanent President of Arya Samaj Ferozepur Cantt and Manager of Arya School Ferozepur Cantt. Smt Snehlata has been the humane face of the bookshop for over 50 years.

Shri Narain Dass had another quality and far-sightedness. He ensured Jampuri booksellers were financially sound and enjoyed a monopoly in his business at his station. He did not allow his trainees to open his bookshop in Cantonment, where a Jampuri was already running his bookshop. I felt proud of being one of the Jampuri running their bookshops in Cantonments all over India. I used to tell Army officers who were liable to be transferred to some other Cantonments someday by telling them that I could make them an astrologer. Please visit a bookshop in that Cantonment. Ask the owner to show his palm to you. On having a look at it, tell him the following. The owner of this shop is a Jampuri. He received his training in this trade at The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantonments. The owner of the shop would give you a surprising look!

Courtesy Lila Dhar Dewan, my father Dev Dutt's first cousin, has showered his immense blessing on us.

The writer Sandeep Dutt is an author, School Improvement Coach and third generation at The English Book Depot.

Best Bookstore Of 2023 by Food4Thought Foundation at the Hyderabad Literary Festival.

A Day In My Life - Reveda Bhatt

24th September this year was exciting.

So, it was Saturday, and my colleague, Kunal (with whom I had been talking for about one year), was in Dehradun (where I live) on his School trip. We had been discussing meeting at the NATIONAL OFFICE*, at The English Book Depot, for days.

We fixed the date to meet as 25th. Talking about something on the 24th, we changed our plan to meet that day as they were here in a group! I requested my Mom to drop me off there.

When I reached with my Mom, they all hadn’t arrived, so we went to the back side of the book-shop and into Sir’s office, spoke to him and just a while later, the whole group arrived. After meeting them, my Mom left.

Seeing them all the first time, I hadn’t spoken to any one of them except Kunal. But, that day, meeting them, we all had fun.

Sir bought us coffee and then went somewhere. Later, to discuss work, we both sat at a table nearby.
Soon, it was time for them to leave. We clicked a photograph to keep as a memoir and drove away.

Learning from each other and experiencing new things under such a group with such influential people is what keeps me going on this path of my life that I have chosen! 

Reveda Bhatt
The Aryan School, Dehradun

*The name might sound dramatic, but it is so called because that place is the root which keeps us all connected on a platform even though we, THE STUDENTS OF MY GOOD SCHOOL, are scattered all across India.