Occupying one of Bangalore’s most prized addresses, today Blossom Book House has close to over 6 lakh books within its four walls. For the past twenty years, the bookstore has thrived on Bangalore’s church street and caters to the need of quite a diverse audience – from rare collectible first editions to copies fresh out of the press, they seem to have it all. 

Mayi Gowda founded Blossom Book House in 2002 in a smaller space not far from where the current bookstore stands today. Shortly after having moved from Mysuru in 1995 to study engineering in Bangalore he found himself assisting booksellers on the pavement before deciding to take the plunge in 2002 and start his own store. 

‘After having moved to Bangalore I was assisting a few booksellers who sold books on the pavement and after a while I thought of trying to sell a small collection of books myself’. In due course, Mayi Gowda found himself opening a small store on Church Street with a rather lean collection of around 1500 books. “The first book I sold was How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie” he recollects. 

From conversations with readers who flock to the bookstore regularly you realise that for most of its clientele, the journey to the bookstore is more of a pilgrimage. Losing track of time is easy here, there are no distractions – it’s simply a place that is just about the books and nothing else. 

“When you go to Blossoms you don’t just go there to buy a book. You can do that sitting at home. You go to Blossoms to get lost in the world of books, discover books and to be overwhelmed by how much there is to read and how little time you have” says a long time customer of the bookstore. 

Within its walls, in narrow aisles in between sections cordoning off poets from playwrights you often see groups of three or four sitting on the floor engaged in conversation. This atmosphere, a kind of sanctuary from the everyday banal, is something Mayi Gowda has been able to establish in the past two decades of running the bookstore and readers in Bangalore love him for it. 

When the store was shut for close to three months during the lockdown in 2020, a customer telephoned me, recalls Mayi Gowda. “Just before hanging up, he added that if we needed any support financially we could reach out to him.” The kind of love and generosity many of the patrons have shown the bookstore has been extremely moving according to Mayi Gowda. 

“I’ve never gone to Blossoms and walked out with just the book I wanted to buy. It’s hard not to discover other titles that you wouldn’t have otherwise found out about. The non-intrusive staff there are not hovering over your shoulders, they let you discover books unless you need their help.” was another response I got for what makes every visit special from another long time patron. 

When the bookstore started back in 2002, it sold just pre-owned books. Today it is no longer the case but the majority of their sales are in pre-owned books. This has been a great benefit for its patrons. The books are nominally priced and there’s a wealth of titles in store that are no longer in print. 

Books that get handed down from one reader to another have their own charm and once you spend some time leafing through old copies of books it’s not hard to find little notes from the original owners of the books. Going through these little sentimental inscriptions from strangers separated by time and space makes the act of acquiring a book rather special. 

In a way visiting Blossom Book House, picking something up to read and going through those yellow pages stained with time puts you in conversation not just with the book’s author but also its past owners – a conversation beyond time. And Bangalore as a city, seems to be bustling with these conversations! 

These are difficult times for startups in India. There has been a drop in funding amid fears of a recession and job cuts all around. It cannot be easy for founders to lead their teams in this climate of uncertainty. 

As we wondered how we could help founders navigate this landscape, we realized that there was no one better equipped to understand leadership in uncertainty than a veteran of the Indian Army with a personal insight into the startup world. 

So this Republic Day, we hear from Capt. Shashank, who led counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in the Kashmir valley, before being deputed with Military Intelligence. In his post-Army career, Capt. Shashank has founded two startups and worked in financial services. 

Here are a few key lessons for startup founders from his experiences of leading teams on the frontlines. 

Fight their battle so they fight your war 

When startups are small, teams are close-knit. People know their colleagues’ families, the names of their favourite filmstars, and what they like for dessert. But over time, teams grow large and impersonal. A distance develops. The founders do not interact with anyone outside a tiny leadership group, and leaders have little interest in understanding their teammates as people. 

But people can go to war for us only when we fight their battles, believes Capt. Shashank. “I led companies of 100-200 men; I knew each and every one of them,” he says.

I knew their name, what village they came from, how their parents were doing and what domestic problems they were facing. Some of the men were dealing with property disputes back home. I would speak to the SP from that region to ensure the issue was resolved. That is the granular level you have to go to. Because if you don’t solve his problem, how will he be able to do his duty properly?”

To understand the motivations of employees, it is essential that leaders invest greater time in knowing their team. If their problems can be solved, they will be ready to punch above their weight. 

“We talk about knowing your customer. Knowing your team is just as important,” he says. “What are they passionate about? What are their incentives to do this job for us? If you don’t know that, you won’t know how to motivate them.” 

Dig a trench before you order one dug

In wartime, when it comes to tasks like digging trenches, officers pass the order and jawans carry it out. But in training, everyone learns to dig a trench. “If you don’t know how much effort goes into digging a trench or how long it takes, you will end up passing absurd orders,” says Capt. Shashank. 

The lesson is simple: know the jobs. In the startup world, founders need to be aware of how much time and effort each function entails and what resources are necessary. As teams grow, leaders can often lose touch with ground realities and set unrealistic expectations. In a time of uncertainty, this can lead to tensions. 

“You need to know how much time it takes to get the desired results. Yes, push your team, motivate them, but don’t expect them to do something that is not humanly possible. They are not jaadugars who can perform magic.” 

Prepare as if the battle is today 

Often, people are paralyzed by uncertainty when they should actually be taking decisive action. But in a time of uncertainty, the best course of action is to prepare and be ready for a battle every day. Think of what can go wrong, list out every possible eventuality, and plan a response for each one. In the startup world, a bad week can very quickly turn into a bad month and a bad quarter. The key to fighting that is preparedness. 

Capt. Shashank recalls an incident from his time in Kashmir, when he had slipped into a comfort zone after spending a long time inside a garrison. “You’re doing office work, physical training, playing games, going to the mess… you forget that you are in Kashmir. And this one time, I got into that comfort zone,” he says.  

“But suddenly, I had to move out for an operation. As we were driving out of the garrison gates, I saw a quote there: “सावधान! आज मुकाबला होगा“. Instantly, something changed. Just those four words. I checked my weapon multiple times, I ensured everyone in my unit was holding their weapon properly, and that all of them had bulletproof jackets.”

Instantly, he was on high alert, more aware of himself and his surroundings. “If that simple line can have such a profound effect, you realize it’s been put there with some foresight. It’s a reminder: always be prepared. The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in war. There will be chaos but you can still be ready,” he smiles. 

There is no excuse, Capt. Shashank insists, for being unprepared. 

At least in the army, you can say that terrorists can attack anytime. But in the business world, nothing happens overnight, barring the odd regulatory change from the government. And even then you could argue that it is your job to keep your eyes and ears open. Only if you are unprepared will you blame your problems on uncertainty and volatility.”

Remember why you serve 

Startups are founded with a great sense of purpose. Everyone buys into the mission, and the team, down from the founder, has that purpose in focus all the time. But as the organization grows, that sense of purpose is often diluted. This leads to people losing perspective. A job that began as an opportunity to solve interesting problems starts to look mundane and devoid of meaning. 

A disillusioned team is a huge handicap, more so during a challenging phase for the business. 

The key to handling this is for startups to remind themselves of their purpose. Capt. Shashank recalls how this manifested during his time in the army. He admits that sometimes there were tasks that were not very pleasant to carry out. 

“There are times you have to organize a party, or a reception when a senior officer comes visiting. I used to think, ‘I joined the army to serve the country but I’m standing and organizing some shaadi here,’” he recollects. 

But his purpose was never in doubt.

At the end of the day, I would still convince myself that, ‘Chal yaar, desh ke liye theek hain. Ye bhi kar sakta hoon.’”

He would then ensure the same message was passed down to his unit. “I’d say: ‘Being inspected by a senior officer is a matter of pride. Do we want him to take the message that this unit is ill-prepared and can’t even organize a chai for a guest properly?’”

On the battlefield or in the boardroom, this sense of purpose is key. “You need to be convinced that whatever you are doing is for the betterment of the organization,” says Capt. Shashank. 

Sometimes in your journey, in the case of startups, you forget why you started. If you don’t know your purpose or why you started, anything that follows will be superficial. You will just be telling people, ‘Do this and you will be promoted.’ Not everybody is motivated by that.”

As startups battle their way through a difficult winter, these lessons from the trenches could prove invaluable. 

Meghana is keen on the little details that complement the already established brand’s identity – an updated logo and an online presence is something she worked extensively to create once the reins were handed over and recounts this to be one of the first projects she took up. 

‘Family businesses are complex’, she says, ‘but there’s a charm to them and it works a lot more intuitively, you go with that gut feeling and reasons can’t always be decoded’. Having been in business for over a century S.R.Gopal Rao Opticians witnessed not just generations of customers walk in through its doors but also the surreal changes to the city of Bangalore. 

For old timers, the brand continues to be synonymous with the city, but for Meghana the challenge was to ensure the business finds resonance with a newer audience – a demographic of digital natives for whom the internet was not an invention but simply a part of life. ‘My goal was to continue to be known as the go-to optician in the city’ she highlights.

The Genesis 

Turning back the wheels of time and going to Bangalore in the 1800s takes you into the life of an interesting personality. A watchmaker, dentist and most importantly an optician – S N Rama Rao the father of S. R. Gopal Rao. The former, in the service of Mysore Maharaja had set up shop opposite Tippu Sultan’s Fort in the old quarters of Bangalore city and later got handed down to his son who interestingly happens to be Bangalore’s first qualified Optometrist.

The brand was born in 1936 and in the coming years S. R. Gopal Rao’s brand and business grew in popularity in Bangalore. With facilities like the in-house lens grinding workshop the time to process customer orders were significantly brought down to the delight of their clientele. 

Since 1936, S.R.Gopal Rao Opticians has been passed down from generation to generation and at present the fifth and sixth generation are in charge of running the three stores in Bangalore. Meghana recounts how cautious her parents and the family were when the third store was launched around the time she stepped into the family business. For a growth and expansion obsessed world, this caution seems rather curious, especially in a time where brands are more inclined to play the game like a T20 match while brands like S R Gopal Rao with their legacy view business akin to that of the glorious test cricket format. 

Building relationships

It was important not to deviate from the kind of experience you got at S.R.Gopal Rao Opticians when it was just one store according to Meghana. As opticians you are technically in the field of medicine and patience is the name of the game – this extends to the way in which customers are listened to, their queries attended to and after sales support and service. For a brand that has existed for over a century, customers are not just someone you sell to according to Meghana but also someone you have a long standing relationship with and maintaining this style of doing business was a paramount concern as S.R.Gopal Rao Opticians began opening newer stores in the city. 

The road ahead

Having been closely involved with the business since 2011, Meghana has been involved with ensuring that the brand is able to grow sustainably and contribute to society in ways that they can. ‘Eyewear should not be sold as a fast fashion product’ she points out and adds that for much of the stock that cannot be sold or serviced, S.R.Gopal Rao Opticians, instead of discounting them, donates them to the Essilor Vision Foundation. 

With a century’s worth of experience S.R.Gopal Rao Opticians can’t be viewed just as another optician and eyewear retailer, to Bangalore it has become more of an institution, an entity that has always existed. However, what excites the current COO the most about the brand when she took over was not just the legacy but the immense possibilities of where it could be in the future. 

Allama Prabhu’s Prabhu Photos has been in business for over 50 years in Bangalore – a sanctuary for people who enjoy and value a more meditative form of photography. In a world dominated by digital photography, for whom the tactile analogue world of shooting and developing rolls of film is equally alien and exciting, Prabhu Photos has been a sanctuary and has spurred a resurgence of film photography. 

‘I didn’t want to run just another photo studio. I wanted this to be a space where, yes we develop film rolls and sell film, but also enthusiasts can talk, learn and discuss photography.’ he says.

In the 1970s, Allama Prabhu was a student at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore when he discovered how much he enjoyed taking and developing photographs and eventually had a small dark room set up in the university. During these years, the German made Agfa Click 3 camera loaded with 120mm film was a close companion as he continued to experiment inside and outside the dark room. 

Today, Allama Prabhu runs the studio with his son Dinesh Allamaprabhu and a handful of dedicated staff who share his love and believe in the beauty of film photography. In the past few years, Dinesh has been instrumental in making the studio a hub for a younger generation of film photography enthusiasts. He’s rebranded the store on Instagram, re-christening it to Film Fotostore, engaging with a growing community of young photographers who are now discovering the beauty of shooting on 35mm and 120mm film stock. Dinesh recounts how a lot of young people today turn up at the store having discovered an old roll of film or a heirloom camera and are keen on restoring or developing – an easy way to time travel perhaps. 

Taking a step back from the bustle of Brigade road, Prabhu Photos is nestled in a busy bylane. While the studio may be hard to find, it’s hard to forget. Once inside, shelves packed with cameras, the likes of the iconic Rolleiflex to the community favourite Canon AE 1 all greet you. 

So what makes Prabhu Photos an exception when you compare it to the countless photo studios that shut shop once digital photography took over at the turn of the millennium? They’re not just a store where relationships are purely transactional. This has been the reason why they’ve been able to nurture a very strong sense of community with folks who’ve discovered the possibilities of film photography. 

‘I’ve been coming to the store ever since I picked up an old SLR from Allama Prabhu a few years ago and when the rolls are developed, he takes the time to look at the frames and tells you what he thinks of it and what could have been better. When you get help directly from a renowned photographer in such an encouraging way, you don’t really think of the studio as just a store but a space run by and for photography lovers ’ says a customer who has been shooting on 35mm film since 2020. 

Both Allama Prabhu and Dinesh enjoy sifting through rolls of 35mm film, curating and appreciating good photographs taken by their customers. The duo are quick to converse, especially if you are new to analogue photography or even if you’re just exploring the possibility of trying it out. 

A few visits to the store and it’s clear, a new generation of photographers have now embraced this slower, contemplative and perhaps a bit more expensive form of photography. You invariably encounter a customer or two excitedly handing in a roll of film, a bit of nervousness often evident, a trait of those who have grown up reviewing their photos the moment after it’s shot. While many may think this yet another symptom of nostalgia, Allama Prabhu also believes that this is a means for many to learn the nuances of photography by being more mindful of each frame spent. 

While many darkrooms have faded away, this one shines bright.