Reported by Harini, Rohini, Vijay Deepak
If you reside in or around R.A.Puram / Abhiramapuram, wondering how to spend time these summer holidays and haven’t thought of a bookshop, visit Odyssey on St. Mary’s Road with your parents. This is situated right opposite the church on St. Mary’s road inside an apartment complex. You’ll love the outing for sure.
We were asked to review the bookshop as part of our English Enrichment classes and weren’t sure how interesting it would be, but once we got in, we realized we had so much to explore, observe and learn.
We decided to focus on the ambience besides the kind of books and other things available in the shop.
Ambience
Situated in a commotion-free area, the shop is air-conditioned, a welcome relief from the sweltering and uncomfortable heat and humidity outside. We felt like staying inside the shop and not coming out of it. There are close to seven wooden tables for customers to sit comfortably on and browse through the books. There is also enough space to move between the book-racks. We liked the background music being played – soothing, soft and pleasant – even as we enjoyed the chill air from the air conditioner. The books are arranged very tidily. There is clean potable water available, on request. There are big, attractive pictures stuck between the shelves on the narrow walls. Beside the cash counter is a small pot structured as a fountain that adds to the feel of the place. Another very useful feature is the kiosk, which contains a database of books. It allows you to check if the particular book you want is available in the shop or not.
There are about 10 people to show you around and help you find what you want. We appreciated the sweet manners of the people working in Odyssey, when they spoke to us. We are also very thankful to them because they answered the questions we asked them about the bookshop, patiently. Helpers and sweepers help maintain the shop neatly. The toilet was very clean.
Also tell your dad there is ample parking space available for cars and bikes.
Books
The books are categorized based on the topic and arranged at eye-level . It helps the customers to pick up their desired books without much of a strain. There are different categories of books such as fairy tales, colouring books, comics, young fiction, toddler, reference, self-improvement, astrology, biology, biography, autobiography, humour, computing, business, management, profit, popular classics, non-fiction, coffee table books Tamil books, CDs. These captions are painted boldly on wood. There are books on art and architecture, leisure, home and garden, food and drinks. Indian, French, Italian and Russian dictionaries are also available, some with their CDs.
Some magazines like Outlook, Femina, Womens Era, India Today, Profit and others are also there. There is a small section right near the entrance where the latest arrivals and best-selling books are displayed.
If you are hunting for a good gift for an anniversary, birthday or some special occasion, head here. There are greeting cards, lovely gift articles like bowls, glass tumblers, colourful clocks in interesting shapes-square, rectangle cube, cuboid and triangle, stationery items such as Oliver pens, Ink bottles, stick notes, colour pencils, pens, beautiful greeting cards and colourful papers, leather accessories, picture books, Barbie dolls, cars, files and folders, electronic toys, toys for toddlers, gift wrappers and globes. There are stylish bags in jute that your mom and sister would love to possess. There are also perfumes for men and women. And don’t forget to check out the separate section for CDs and DVDs which contain Indian and international audios and videos.
Oh, and before we forget, just a word of caution. If you are taking your little brothers and sisters along, keep a watch on them. There are brittle gift articles made of glass and ceramic displayed in a way that they can easily reach.
Some of the books that grabbed our attention are the Harry Potter series, Secret Seven, Famous Five, Fantastic Four, Angel Barbera, autobiographies of great people like Mahatma Gandhi, the Amar Chitra Katha series, Ramayana, besides gift items like the Barbie dolls, the three rows of beautiful glassware, show-pieces, bracelets and the small gift sets which reflected the rainbow’s colours.
Here are the highlights of the interview we had with the manager of the store, Mr.P.Sajith. He was very patient with all the three of us shooting questions.
Questions Asked To The Manager
1. How many branches do you have in India?
We have 26 branches and this is the latest one.
2. Who are your competitors?
Landmark
3. Do you have branches which are higher than this in area ? Where?
We have two formats – Regular and Express. Regular format stores are over 6000 sq.ft. in area and Express format stores are lesser. In Chennai, the Annanagar and Adyar branches are the Regular format stores.
4. When was this branch in Mylapore started?
It was started on April 11th, 2008.
5. What is the reason for setting the shop here?
It is a residential area and we get a good number of walk-ins, especially during weekends
6. Are there programmes for children?
We had a few as part of our opening celebrations and are planning some more in the near future.
5. Are there plans to open more shops?
Yes, there are plans in the pipeline to open another 40 shops all over
India.
6. What are the books that children like the most and buy?
Amar Chitra Kathas and fiction stories. Adults buy books on health and fitness, home and gardening and food and drinks. They also buy Coffee Table books.
7. What are the working hours of this shop?
10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
8. Do you have regular customers?
Yes, we do have regular customers.
9. Do you like your job, and why?
After my Graduation from New College, I took this as a part-time job and realized that I loved working here. This is my first job and I have no plans of changing over.
10. Who owns the Odyssey chain of stores?
This is owned by Deccan Chronicle and the General Manager is Mr.T.S.Ashwin.
14. Finally, why the name ‘ODYSSEY’?
Odyssey means ‘journey’ and ‘discovery’. That is what we intend this shop and the experience to be for our customers.
Thank you very much for your time.
It’s my pleasure.
So, friends, this shop is certainly worth your time.