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Mumbai domestic terminal, India; An ordinary non-descript airport terminal, typical of those found throughout Asia; basic but clean, limited in facilities but teaming with travelers, and humid, very humid, even at 7.00pm on a Friday evening.<> A spartan tiled bathroom sits to the left of the entranceway; it admits a strong smell of disinfectant. The exuberant bathroom attendant, a sari draped woman in her 50’s pounces on visitors as they approach and guides them from stall to sink in anticipation of a welcome tip. A small post office outlet with a display of dusty greeting cards sits beside a quiet foreign exchange desk; a lone attendant sits at the counter ready to serve the odd foreign visitor. A handful of food and snack outlets are scattered around the perimeter of the departure lounge, the most popular purchase is quenching sweet lime juice by the primary businessman travelers, heading home at the end of the working week. Near the security clearance gate, a jewelry store displays garish pieces that waiting passengers stop to view through the window. A few venture inside for a closer inspection but none leaving as satisfied customers.<> But within the blandness and humidity of the Mumbai domestic terminal, an unexpected gem exists that is worth a closer look.<> With the grand title of “M/s Arjandas Gagandas Kartari –Travelers Requisite Store,” this simple kiosk tucked in the corner of the departure lounge offers a hot, cramped cubicle for travelers to update their reading material. On first inspection this miniscule bookstore appears to be nothing more than a chaos of stock, books are piled floor to ceiling, the display windows jammed with a mixture of titles. If tempted to bend sideways to read the spines stacked in the window display you will find jumbled together books ranging from How to do an MBA in 10 days, a guide to Indian cuisine, to coffee table books on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.<> On closer inspection, the chaos did have some order and some surprising depth. Past the crammed window display, stock stacked on the interior shelves and in threateningly tall piles on the floor prove to contain categories of an interesting variety. Next to the glass topped counter in the corner, a towering pile is devoted to a range of management and finance textbooks. In the centre shelves, the west side is devoted to every conceivable Lonely Planet title, ranging from Japan to Singapore, Cambodia to Switzerland. On the east facing shelf, history tomes on India and its neighbors includes an impressive text titled “The Complete Condensed History of Sri Lanka”. The north shelf, a varied collection of classic airport novels and finally to the south, a cookery section to match the international destinations represented in the Lonely Planet titles.<> The middle-aged proprietor cleverly worked the compact space to his advantage, quickly laying hand to topics and titles to suit the needs of each of his customers. A management text for a local businessman, the beautiful “Tuesday’s with Morrie” for a young studious sari-adorned woman, and several famed female Indian author’s for me, the book clutching westerner. With 2-3 titles in my hand, I asked my helpful guide which was his favorite, hoping to catch him out on his knowledge of modern women writers. Without skipping a beat he claimed one over the other. In turn his knowledge on business and finance was no less, referring and recommending titles with ease and assurance. According to Mr Kartari, the management texts were outselling the literature and travel titles, a reflection on the successful outsourcing of IT/Finance work that India has become so expert at.<> I watched as successive visitor after visitor to this small kiosk was welcomed and their reading needs attended to. Titles were expertly drawn from the piles, their merits detailed and their contents, whether a history of India, a novel by Grisham or a guide to Capital rising were summarized clearly and succinctly. In stark contrast to the ignored jewelry store, it was rare to see these well attended customers leave empty-handed.<> While lacking the spaciousness, comfort and coffee on offer at the modern mega bookstore, the range and the service on offer at Mumbai’s domestic terminal “Traveller’s Requisite Store” is without question, world class.<>

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