An Evening At Atta Galatta

As I approached Atta Galatta, a bookstore in Koramangala, Bangalore, I felt instantly attracted to the uniqueness it exuded.  The place seemed as unique as its name.  I had read about Atta Galatta in The Hindu today & it was the name that made me visit this bookstore in the first place.

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There were three interesting events lined up today, out of which I attended the first two – a book reading session of ‘Flat Track Bullies‘ by Balaji Venkatraman & a story telling session by The Storywallahs.

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Attending the book reading session was a new experience for me & I thoroughly enjoyed it!  The protagonist of this book is a 11-year old kid Ravi who writes 2 pages of his diary every day for handwriting practice.  So the book is actually the diary of 11-year old Ravi.  Balaji told that ‘Flat Track Bully’ is a term used in Cricket for teams which easily defeat weaker opponents but can’t stand a chance against the stronger teams.  He believed that every individual is a flat track bully in some way & that’s how he decided this name for the book.

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Two kittens in the adjoining balcony, also seemed highly interested in the book reading session.  The black & white kitten had a black patch just below his nose which made him look like a combination of Hitler & Chaplin.

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The story telling session was a lot of fun for children & adults alike.  Kudos to the Storywallahs for this wonderful venture to revive the beautiful tradition of story telling.  The storyteller Amin used songs, actions & gestures superbly to keep children attentive & interested in the stories, but the most important point without which the stories would seem lifeless was his excellent voice modulation.

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Later, I looked around in the bookstore & spoke to Subodh, co-owner of the store.  He told me that Atta = play & Galatta = fun, ruckus in Kannada. 🙂  I was interested to know what differentiated Atta Galatta from other bookstores to which he replied that the bookstore not only has English & Hindi books but also books in regional languages like Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam & Kannada.  I think the complete experience differentiates this bookstore from others!

IMAG0501While walking to get a rickshaw, this graffiti caught my eye & made me stop.  A creative conclusion to an evening marked with creativity!

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