WR serves closure orders to iconic Wheeler book stalls

Mumbai: In a move that has sparked both commercial and cultural concerns, the Western Railway (WR) has ordered at least 55 iconic AH Wheeler (AHW) stalls across its Mumbai Central Division to shut shop from March 31 and vacate their premises within 72 hours, sources said.

The directive follows the expiry of the five-year contract granted to these stalls from April 1, 2021. A notification issued on Saturday by Assistant Commercial Manager Yajush Acharya directed concerned station superintendents and station managers to ensure that all 55 Multi-Purpose Stalls are cleared and handed over in ‘good condition’ by April 3.

Citing norms in the order, it said contractors must remove all goods, fixtures and fittings, and settle pending dues, fines or bills before vacating.

Failing compliance, WR warned of consequences including takeover of the premises, locking them up, and even disposing of any remaining goods or furniture without liability.

Massive Uproar

However, the move has triggered resistance from Wheeler stall operators, many of whom have been running these stalls for decades. An agent managing a prominent stall at a south Mumbai station termed the decision ‘arbitrary’ and alleged that the Railways intended to repurpose these prime locations.

“We have challenged the move in the Bombay High Court and are awaiting an urgent hearing. Our plea is to grant us an extension. We suffered massive losses during the Covid-19 pandemic when suburban services were shut or restricted for months,” the agent told The Perfect Voice, requesting anonymity.

‘Knowledge Portals’

For lakhs of Mumbaikars, the bookstalls are more than just retail counters – they have been a part of the city’s daily rhythm. Generations of commuters recall grabbing a morning newspaper, a weekly magazine, or a last-minute novel to kill time during their travel.

Before the era of mobile telephony, these stalls served as ‘knowledge portals’ – stocking newspapers in multiple languages, magazines, periodicals, school-college guides, books to crack competitive exams, literary or fiction novels, and even children’s books and comics like Phantom, Indrajal, Amar Chitra Katha and more.

Old-timers recall how one could walk up to a Wheeler stall and ask for an obscure title, and the vendor would even go to the length of procuring it if he didn’t have it in the store. ‘If you couldn’t find a book anywhere in the city, try Wheelers - you were almost certain to get it,’ was the reputation the stalls enjoyed.

A retired banker-cum-bookworm, V. Nadkarni, told The Perfect Voice that in the 1970s, he would save a few rupees every month to buy his favourite novels from Wheeler stalls. Over the years, he built up a small home library of over 500 books, which he cherished after retirement a few years ago.

Wheeler cultivated on-the-move reading habit

Founded in 1877 at Allahabad (now Prayagraj) station by French entrepreneur Emile Eduoard Moreau, his British partner Arthur Henry Wheeler and others, the brand grew into a nationwide institution, once operating at over 500 railway stations.

During the British era, it stocked works by top leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, alongside literary giants such as Rudyard Kipling. Wheeler shops also started the ‘Indian Railway Library Series’.

Post-Independence, the chain was taken over by one of its subsequent partners, TK Banerjee, in 1950, and the family continues to run the show.

Though Indian Railways ended Wheeler’s monopoly in 2004 and later allowed diversification of the goods they sold in 2020, the stalls retained their distinct identity as literary-cum-cultural hubs that helped cultivate a reading habit amid the hustle and bustle of rail travel.