Atta Galatta completes 10 years, revamps interior

Falah Faisal

Bengaluru: Over the last decade, Atta Galatta has become a cultural hub in Koramangala. Situated close to many colleges on a busy street, they would often host plays, poetry evenings, and workshops. They are also the resident bookstore at all the literary festivals that happen in the city including the Bangalore Literature Festival and Bangalore Poetry Festival.

But when the pandemic hit, it became unfeasible to keep the space open and they were forced to shut down. After two years, they have finally opened a new bookstore in Indiranagar on 5th main that's bigger and better than the previous place. It spans two floors and a performance area.

Subodh Sankar, who runs the place with his wife and daughter, said, “On the ground floor we have our reader’s section and all the books you see here are donated to us by people. In the basement we have our selection of books that we sell and the performance space can seat up to 50 people.” The bookstore officially opened its doors on December 18th but was delayed due to the rains.

“We actually planned to open in August but due to the rains we were fighting leaks and had to be extra careful because we have a basement space,” says Sankar, who is still refining the setting up of the place. He even plans to move into the same building.

“What many don’t know is that this isn’t our second, but our third outlet. The first one we started on April 1, 2012, above our house but were forced to shut it down by December by the resident’s association which forced us to move to the space we had in Koramangala,” he explains. The bookstore also has a cafe serving sandwiches, coffee, and tea.

On how his store is different from the other bookstores in the city, Sankar said, “We aren’t even competing with the likes of Blossoms and Bookworm. Here people can meet and have conversations about books and host cultural events. We are selling an experience that’s unlike any other.” In the new space, Atta Galatta is all set to not only recreate the glo