Hyderabad: Over the years, the concept of books and bookstores has undergone changes, but Hyderabad-based Shilpa Sudhakar aims to revive the culture by establishing an independent bookstore named ‘Luna’ in the city.
Although Shilpa is an enthusiastic reader, she had never considered starting a bookstore before. She used to frequent all the old bookshops to browse and purchase books. However, when the bookstores in the city started shutting down, she felt the void left by the absence of these spaces.
Shilpa, who comes from a family of avid readers and had previously worked in the investment and finance industry for 17 years, explains that the inspiration behind starting Luna was to bring back the experience of visiting a bookstore.
Last June, Shilpa made the decision to start a bookstore after feeling dissatisfied with the lack of bookstores in her city. “I didn’t want to live in a city without bookstores. My husband suggested that I take action, which led me to start Luna,” Shilpa recounts.
Together with her sister Sapna Sudhakar, Luna was launched in October of last year. The bookstore is curated by Shilpa and aims to showcase underrated writers. With shelves full of books and a variety of genres to explore, there is ample space for visitors to browse and discover new reads.
Shilpa explains that Luna is solely dedicated to books, and they were initially experimenting with the concept of a pure bookstore. To their delight, the experiment was a success, and they were able to attract many passionate readers from the city.
“We met many ardent readers through this process, and it has been a joy to see their love for books. Luna’s main goal is to revive the city’s vibrant reading culture and bring it back to life,” Shilpa expresses her desire.
