(From top) Women flip through books at the old book market near Gandhi Maidan in Patna; a shop owner at his stall and youngsters take a peek at books at a roadside stall. Pictures by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Aug. 1: Welcome to the old book market of Patna, strategically placed near the Gandhi Maidan area. Look out for any book and be rest assured that you will find it.

From the Hindi version of Rhonda Bryne’s The Secret to the classic Wuthering Heights to a biochemistry textbook of the Bharathiar University. The price is not an issue as well. The more you bargain the more are your chances of clinching a deal.

One of the dealers, Nazim, has been in the business for almost a decade. He said: “Name a book and you will get it here. It’s kind of a record. Very few customers return disappointed from the market. From course books to novels of all ages, we sell all kinds of books. The business is on for years now.”

Nazim’s words ring true. Whether the original version or the pirated, one can find just any book in the market. And, a crime though, no one cares for piracy.

Nazim added: “I inherited the business from my father and grandfather. Altogether, we have a huge collection. At present, I have got more than 30,000 books, all novels. Some of them are on display here, while the rest are stacked in my house. Over the past two years, never once have I failed to find a book for my customer. If it’s not on display, I just ask the customer to come back the next day. And I am sure to arrange it by then.”

One can have the pirated copy of the controversial Taslima Nasreen book, Lajja, for Rs 100 in the market. It does not stop here. Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and Satanic Verses come for Rs 120. The Lord Byron book Don Juan is just for Rs 130.

The Hindi version of the popular The Secret can be bought for Rs 100, while the pirated English version can be grabbed at Rs 180. The original version comes for at least Rs 500 in proper bookstores.

The throwaway prices, however, come after a lot of bargaining.

Salman, another bookseller, said: “We get our stuff from Delhi and Calcutta. As far as the old books are concerned, they are collected over the years. Some have been bought too. People come to our stalls from Punjab, Delhi and even the south. We get foreign customers also.”

Salman, however, does not want to discuss much about pirated books. The other shopkeepers are disinterested as well.The market is not all about novels, though.

This is the best place to be when textbooks are concerned. Books for any subject, in any university in India, can be found here.

Ankit Anand, a student of Annamalai University and a resident of Patna, said: “I needed a book on marine biotechnology. From Delhi to Calcutta, I looked for it everywhere. When I couldn’t get a copy, I told my father. Three days later I got a call that he had found the book. I was shocked. I never expected to find the book in Patna. I am here on vacation now, and am in the market to buy some more books.”

Tanvir, another shopkeeper, said lots of students visit the market to buy books. “We have students coming in from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu. They ask for books and we have them. All of us help each other out in the business. So if I don't have a particular book, I can depend on the other shopkeepers. Our business runs wonderfully because of this,” Tanvir added.

It was the third visit to Patna for Anurima, a student of Ramjas College under Delhi University. And it is all because of the books. “My aunt lives here and I can find each book I need at really affordable prices. Sometimes, I am surprised as to how they have all the books everyone needs. It’s incredible,” she said.

Tyagi, who is into the business for 25 years, said that their biggest asset was diversity. “We have never restricted ourselves to any particular kind of books. We have novels and course books of all kinds. We also have Hindi and English novels. The range of books is huge and the customers get what they want here. And we want the same to continue in the years to come,” Tyagi added.