 Oxford Boostore opens in Chennai
 Booksellers since 1920s, the Oxford Bookstore, a chain of premium bookstores, has finally come to Chennai. Oxford Bookstore which already has stores in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Goa, has located its Chennai store at Apeejay House on Haddows Road,
Nungambakkam.
The bookstore is committed to bringing the best in Indian and international publishing and book retailing to the city, said Priti Paul, director, Apeejay Surrendra Group. 'Cha Bar', a space that narrates the complete tea story and offers a range of teas from the world over, is a part of the store experience.
Priti Paul said, "I am delighted to bring Oxford Bookstore to Chennai. From a vast range of books for all ages and interests to exciting interactive literary sessions to the rejuvenating Cha Bar – we will provide the city with a brand new chapter of the Oxford story, a story that started many years ago in 1920 in Kolkata and continues to enthrall booklovers all over India."
In addition to the popular sections of Fiction, Literature, Travel, Cookery, there are well-researched sections dealing with Health, Yoga, Tantra and Reiki. The New Age section is an important addition and section on Religion, Children, Art and Architecture are also well stocked. Other important sections include Business, Indian writing in English, Reference, Vernaculars and Nature. A large collection of Indian and international magazines is systematically organised for easy accessibility.
 Rajiv Chowdhry, CEO, Apeejay Oxford Bookstores Pvt Ltd, says, "We are the best equipped ‘base camp’ for journeys of the mind. We offer our customers the widest range of titles and a consistently courteous and informed service. We believe that reading is a great stress buster and should be a habit that we should encourage among children."
To celebrate the launch of Oxford Bookstore Chennai, Penguin Books India will mount a special display of their Puffin and Ladybird Series. Aysha Rau provided a reading from her absorbing book Marine Life, accompanied by live music and songs. There were interesting interactive activities for book lovers spread over three days.
On Sunday October 8, the store hosted The Spirit of a Child, a theatrical session of entertainment and learning for underprivileged children with actor Jaya Rao. On October 9, Roli Books and Oxford Bookstore presented an event around M J Akbar’s recent book, Blood Brothers – A Family Saga, with a reading, followed by a discussion on 'Art, Media and Literature in Troubled Times'. Dhritiman Chatterji - theatre and film actor, Shashi Kumar - chairman, Asian College of Journalism, Sivakami, Dalit author and bureaucrat, and the author, joined the panel for the interactive session.
Oxford Bookstore, Chennai’s newest bookstore, occupies 7,000 sq ft of Apeejay House on Haddows Road. Leveraging on relationships built over 80 years with publishers and writers around the world, it offers 1,00,000 titles spread over 45 sections along with gifts, a gallery space, Internet facilities and Cha Bar.
Oxford Bookstore is a part of the Apeejay Surrendra Group.
R Rangaraj
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