CLINKING utensils, the gentle brewing of tea, and the lively chatterofpeople eagerly awaiting their food create a vibrant ambience within the eatery. Normally, the entire space is imbued with the tantalising aroma of delicious meals being preparedin thekitchen.However, this delightful scentoften goesun noticed by customers whose noses are typically buried in the books they are reading. With the most cheerful and wrinkly smile, 74-year-old Bhimabai Jondhale observes the entire commotion.

 

“I feel a sense of pride when I watch all my customers reading keenly, almost forgetting what they were here for – food,” she shares. Fondly known as Aaji,Bhima bai has been running her book restaurant, ‘Ajjichya Pustakancha Hotel‘ (Grandmother’s Hotel with Books), since 2010, serving not only delicious meals but also offering free books to read. The place boasts a depository of over 5,000 books in three different languages - Marathi, Hindi, and English. However, the origin story of this book hotel will surely melt your heart! For the undying love for reading Ifitis your birthday or anniversary, you are sure not to leave without a free book from Aaji Hotel. Located in Ozar, Nashik district, Bhimabai’s son helps her in the operations. While the hotel might be flourishing with colours and ample seating spaces today, it was only a makeshift spot for tea more than a decade ago. “It was the only way for my mother to fill our stomachs. While she is a positive woman today, she has had her fair share of struggles back in the day,”saysPravinJondhale,Bhimabai’s son.Recallingher earlylife,Bhimabai shares that she was merely in class 6 when she was married off and sent to a small village near Nashik. “As achild,Iwasa very keenobserver. I used to love reading, and books were my best friend.

 

However, when I got married, everything changed,” she says. Away from home and everything sheloved,Bhimabai found herself alone, tending to a family. “Myhusbandwas an alcoholicwho spent most of his time wandering around. Not only did I have to take care of the home, but also the farms,” she says, adding, “When my daughter became a little older, she would go to the farms with me.” With her children growing up, she wanted to send them to school. “We were always financially weak, but my husband’s addiction made things worse. He, in a state of intoxication, either sold off his land or gambled it away,” she says. Left without a means to feed her family,Bhimabaiwouldwork forhours indifferentpeople’s fields tobring food to the table. “I was fed up with the life we had. My son was going to school and had picked up a newspaper distribution job to help me,” she shares. Pravin elaborates on his mother’s struggle from his perspective,“All the relatives were always trying to have their way with her. My father was a father only in name. He never took any responsibilities.

 

Like my mother,Ihad a zeal to get an education. I got a job at a newspaper distributor and fundedmy educationmyself,”he says.There wasonlyone escape from the challenging life –move to the city. “It was like a beacon of hope for us. I would probably find some work there, andmymother would be away from her relatives. So, we decided to sell off whatever was left of our land and moved to the city,” he says. In2008, the familymoved to the city. Pravin had already started a publishing company and days were looking better. “Due tosomepersonalreasons,Ihad to shut down the publishing company, andwehadastock of Marathi language bookswithus.Mymother and sister did not know much beyond farming, so they started a makeshift tea stall to meet our expenses,” he says. No phones, only books! In 2010, Bhimabai, along with her daughter,laid the foundation ofwhat is today Ajjichya Pustakancha Hotel.

 

While the familymoved, the taunts and harsh words never stopped following her. “They would talk about how the women of the house should not wander around selling tea; she should take care of the house. But I did not care about those taunts anymore,” she says. “My children and I slowly started to use savings to expand the tea stall and make it an eatery.WhatI noticed was that while a person would wait for their food, they would always be buried in their phone,” she says. “Theywouldnotconversewitheach other but would keep scrolling on their phone.Ifound the habit very absurd and wanted to do something about it,” she says. As a woman who was fond ofreading but never got the chance to, shedecided toreintroduce the habit of reading to people.

 

“Books are our best friends. They are your companions in every situation.We started off with just 25 books in a stand in the eatery and it kept growing.Westarted encouragingpeo ple to pick up a book and read while we cook their meal,” she says. “By the time the food would arrive at their table, they would have already reachedchapter two of the book,” she adds. People started to appreciate her initiative and word spread.The book collectionwhichstartedwithonly 25bookshasnowgrown to5,000 books. “In addition to books in the eatery,wealso give free books on special occasions such as Women’s Day and Republic Day to initiate a habit of reading among people. We also have started giving books as gifts to hospitals,” he says. “For people waiting at the hospital for a loved one or for their own treatment, we hope our books will help. My mother believes that medicines treat your body but books heal your soul,” he adds. The eatery has also since kept on growing and people have donated books to Aaji’s collection.