In fact, to mark the 55th Karnataka Rajyotsava Day in 2011, Sapna Book House released 55 books in Kannada.Īs Suresh once said, “Sapna is today a brand name that is synonymous with books. Sapna’s branches host a wide range of books by authors from the state. Suresh, a unique personality with ancestral origins in Dhoraji, Gujarat, championed the cause of Kannada authors and literature like very few have in recent years. Veerabhadrappa, a noted writer whose works have consistently been published by Sapna, in a conversation with The Hindu. He was the first to publish omnibus editions of complete works of Shivaram Karanth, Nisar Ahmed and others,” said Kum. “Though he is not from Karnataka, his contribution to Kannada is immense. His incredible ability to grow his business to massive heights was only matched by his contribution to Kannada literature. He soon acquired a 1,200 square location for their first retail outlet in Gandhinagar. Between 1967 to 1977, Suresh leveraged his sharp business acumen and worked long hours, taking the business to new heights.
The first book they reportedly sold was a Lilliput pocket dictionary. Starting with a hundred books in a 10×10 square feet bookshop, it was a humble beginning. Taking his wife’s advice seriously, Suresh quit his job after working a couple of more years and launched Sapna Book House in the city’s Gandhinagar area in 1967. Leaving the job and starting one’s own business was a risk, but I was confident of my husband’s capability.” So I advised him to work independently, which would allow him to work according to his own ideals. Speaking to India Today in a 2008 interview, Bhanumati said, “My husband had a tiff with the owners of the company he worked for. Inside Sapna Book House (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons) Moreover, Bhanumathi always encouraged her husband to start his own business. Despite succeeding in turning around their branch in Bengaluru, he had disagreements with Tulsi Shah. He arrived in the city with his wife Bhanumathi and his two-year-old son, Nitin. Upon seeing Suresh’s hard work, Tulsi Shah promoted him to the role of assistant manager and transferred him to the company branch in Bengaluru during the early 1960s. With a monthly allowance of Rs 75, he worked 15-hour shifts at the office located on Dalal Street. Such was his enterprising spirit that he would end up becoming the president of the Ghatkopar division of the Mumbai Coolie Association.įollowing his stint as a coolie, he found work at a pocketbook distributing company run by a businessman known as Tulsi Shah.
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Thus, instead of running around working odd jobs, he began working full time as a coolie at the station. He suggested to the young boy that it would be better to work at the station rather than working at several different places. The station master knew how Suresh was working hard to support his family. Suresh had little choice but to quit his education and find odd jobs like delivering various items ranging from soaps to pearls to affluent households in the city.įortunately, however, he happened to know the station master of the Ghatkopar railway station. However, poverty would refuse to leave the family.
Whenever I could spare time, I would go and help my father,” he once told Chitralekha, a Gujarati publication.Īfter completing his matriculation with a First Class, he enrolled in a college. “I was 10 years old, the eldest in the family. His father, Chhaganlal, worked at the Cotton Exchange near the Kalbadevi area of Mumbai but found it hard to make ends meet.ĭespite his natural aptitude for academics, Suresh would help his father at the Cotton Exchange whenever possible. Looking back at his life, Suresh Shah stands as one of the lesser-known success stories of Indian entrepreneurship.īorn on 3 March 1938 in Ghatkopar, a suburb of Mumbai, Suresh spent a significant part of his childhood supporting his family. Today, Sapna Book House has 19 branches across the state. Many tributes have begun pouring in from across the state, given the special place Sapna Book House holds as one of the leading publishers of Kannada literature. Suresh C Shah, the founder of Sapna Book House, which ranks among the most iconic bookstore chains in Karnataka, passed away in Bengaluru after succumbing to Covid-19.