Pore over paperbacks

If immersing yourself in a good book while sipping on a drink or nibbling a sandwich is your idea of a perfect afternoon, Deepak Purohit’s Mockingbird Café might be the place for you. The book-themed cafe and bar opened its doors to bookworms in the city a little more than a month ago.

At the cafe, classics such as Fight Club, Catch-22, Maximum City, The Corrections, Midnight’s Children, Disgrace, Lives of Others and Sea of Poppies — which are placed on the Book Wall —are a common sight and are straight out of Deepak’s personal collection. And he’s looking to add ‘thousands of books’ to the shelves, despite the fear that the pages may get marred with food stains. “Initially, I was a little sceptical about putting my collection on display since a lot of things can go wrong when you have food around — drinks can ruin the books or traces of food can easily leave an imprint on the pages. But I have been lucky since I haven’t faced any such issue yet. My diners are making sure that the books aren’t stained in any way.”

Opening a library cafe was something that was always on Deepak’s entrepreneurial list. He says, “Food and books have always been my passion. So it made sense to bring the two together. I have always wanted to create a space where you nibble on a few bites and catch up on your reading. I do face separation pangs when I see someone reaching out for my favourite book, but I have seen people’s face light up when they see their favourite book on the shelf.”