Gulshan Books, a publishing house in the valley which runs a

bookshop-cum-cafe on Nehru Park in the middle of Dal Lake, has

been featured in the new edition of the records book., biography, travel, art, music and children’s books. Apart from this they sell famous works on Sikkim, Tibet, Greater Himalaya and the regional history.

A Kashmiri bookshop, housing over 80,000 books, has made it to

the Limca Book of Records 2018.

The bookshop can be reached by a shikara ride and the owner of

the shop, Sheikh Ajaz Ahmad (46), offers free shikara rides to

people keen to read books on Kashmir and its literature.

They decided to open their bookstore some two decades ago, as there were not any large bookstores in their city Srinagar. Reading wasn’t a popular habit among people. Since they had been in the book publishing business for a long time, it became an obligation for them to start this venture which at that time wasn’t a popular business idea.

 In order to introduce reading to their local public on a large scale, they had to start their bookstore on a busy prime location so that the chances of this venture making a meaningful difference they are maximized.

As a result, they chose Lal Chowk which was the hub of business activities not just in their city, but in the valley as whole.

their bookstore was designed in such a way that interaction and

intellectual simulation among people would be achieved.

They wanted their bookstore to be a meeting spot for Historians, journalists, Students, Intellectuals and people from all walks of life so that ideas and thoughts

are exchanged and thought-provoking discussions would take place.