“For the last 20 years, our workplace hasn’t had four walls. It has had four wheels.

Every morning, we unlock this mobile bookstore, arrange hundreds of books on the shelves and drive to a different town. Once we park and open the shutters, people begin to walk in. Some come looking for novels, some for children’s books, and some simply out of curiosity.

We have travelled across different states, taking books to places where there may not be a bookstore nearby. Many people ask us why we continue doing this when almost everything is available on a phone.

We tell them, ‘A screen gives you information, but a book gives you imagination.’

When you read a book, every character has a face that only you can see. Every village, every street and every emotion takes shape in your own mind. Podcasts, videos and digital screens have their place, but they can never replace that feeling.

We grew up watching readers cherish books from Visalandhra Publishing House, which began in Vijayawada in 1952. Today, through Navachethana Publishing House, we feel proud to carry that tradition on wheels. Instead of waiting for readers to visit us, we take the books to them.

This work has kept us on the road for most of our lives, and our families have been our biggest support throughout these 20 years. Without their strength, we couldn’t have continued this journey.

The best part of our day isn’t selling books. It’s meeting someone who comes back every time with the same enthusiasm, looking for a new story to take home.

People say the world has become digital. Maybe it has.

But every time we open these shutters, we’re reminded that nothing can replace the joy of holding a book, turning its pages and letting your imagination travel farther than any road ever could.”

— Krishnaiah and team, Mobile Book Exhibition Van, Navachethana Publishing House