Ganesha bookstore still a beloved Ubud institution<\/p>\n
Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne, Australia<\/p>\n
In a place of rapid, sometimes frantic change, it is always
\nreassuring to come across some constants. While we often concede
\nto the need, and even enjoy the fruit of development, deep down
\nwe still hanker for the familiarity of what we know.<\/p>\n
One of the constants of Ubud in Bali is Ganesha bookshop,
\nwhich is now situated along the main street of the town, opposite
\nthe Ubud Post Office.<\/p>\n
While it has relocated twice, from its original position along
\nthe road leading to the famous monkey forest, then across the
\nroad from its current location, the bookshop has retained its
\nquaint, charming yet understated appearance.<\/p>\n
Even the board bearing a golden picture of Ganesha, the Hindu
\nGod of knowledge and the arts, is not placed at the main
\nentrance, but on a window facing the smaller side street.<\/p>\n
The moment you step in, you will feel a subtle influence
\nencouraging you to stay and browse, or even daydream. It is one
\nof the charmed things visitors experience in Bali, especially in
\nparts of the island a fair way from the beaten path.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, what you are experiencing may just be the
\nexcitement of being surrounded by symbols of knowledge packaged
\nin various attractive and presentable forms, made to last and
\nlinger by the gamelan music playing in the background.<\/p>\n
The shop sells new, secondhand and antiquarian books, as well
\nas CDs, musical instruments, magazines, cards and other gifts or
\nsouvenir items. It is frequented by tourists, expatriates and
\nlocals, who come to check out its wide variety of quality books,
\nincluding its stock of rare and out of print volumes.<\/p>\n
Ganesha was the first bookshop in Ubud, a labor of love of
\nAustralian Anita Scheeres and her husband, Balinese writer Ketut
\nYuliarsa Sastrawan.<\/p>\n
Newly married in the 1980s, Anita and Ketut, residents of
\nSydney, found themselves returning to Ubud for holidays.
\nOriginally from Denpasar, Ketut found in Ubud what he was seeking
\nas a writer: peace and solitude, and at the same time a feeling
\nof being completely at home.<\/p>\n
They decided to buy land near the monkey forest, still
\ndominated by rice fields at the time. Feeling the need for a
\nplace where people would be able to trade reading materials, the
\ncouple started a book exchange business, managed by Ketut's
\nfather, who had then retired from his position as head of the
\noffice of Bali's culture and education ministry. In the meantime,
\nAnita And Ketut would bring bags full of books each time they
\ncame for their holidays.<\/p>\n
\"We then placed the books in the store for exchange or sale.
\nThis way we were assured of obtaining more books for us to read
\nwhile in Ubud,\" Anita recalled.<\/p>\n
The shop quickly filled up as they had to keep adding more
\nshelves to accommodate the books. So when they made a move to
\nlive more permanently in Ubud with their then two-year-old son in
\n1992, they also moved the shop to a larger location on the main
\nstreet.<\/p>\n
They soon tripled their secondhand book selection, then added
\na new books section, followed by musical instruments and other
\nknick-knacks.<\/p>\n
\"Ketut and I have a deep love of books and have always been
\nvery aware of the joy that reading can offer,\" Anita replied when
\nasked why they did not start a restaurant or boutique instead.<\/p>\n
\"It gave us so many opportunities to meet people from all over
\nthe world who shared our love of books. It also gave us a simple
\nyet comfortable lifestyle in Ubud -- just enough to keep the
\nstore going and to pay for the necessities of life and a little
\nextra for yearly trips to Sydney, to stock up on yet more books
\nto sell in the store.\"<\/p>\n
Ketut and Anita have never relied on shipping books into Bali.
\nApart from enjoying doing the selection themselves, they like to
\nknow where their books are at any given time.<\/p>\n
\"Shipping books is always haphazard, whether the books will
\nindeed arrive, whether there will be 'import taxes' charged --
\nand we have never really found out what the official rate of duty
\nis,\" explained Anita.<\/p>\n
Anita believes that the secret of Ganesha's success as a
\nbookstore has been the fact that they are always actively
\ninvolved in choosing their books.<\/p>\n
\"We are very discerning about the books we purchase for the
\nstore. We don't just stock a mass of books, but rather select
\nbooks that are topical, current, classic or just fine pieces of
\nwork,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"We have found over the years that it is really pointless to
\nhave shelves and shelves of paperbacks because most of them just
\nstay on the shelves.\"<\/p>\n
The family has now moved back to Sydney where Jarrah, their
\nson, goes to high school. To keep the store operating, Ketut and
\nAnita have reliable staff who handle the day-to-day business, and
\nin the meantime they travel frequently between Sydney and Ubud,
\nwith today's technology allowing them to stay in touch each day
\nwith what is going on in the store.<\/p>\n
They have also moved into the Internet era, with a very active
\nwebsite.<\/p>\n
\"We also now sell Indonesian books that we purchase directly
\nfrom the publishers. I purchase our Indonesian studies books
\naround the world via the Internet and then bring them to Ubud
\neach time I come. It is now a very solid part of our business,\"
\nAnita recounted.<\/p>\n
They have orders from many universities around the world for
\ntheir Indonesian studies books. \"But most of our business is
\nstill conducted face to face in the bookstore,\" she said.<\/p>\n
They have no plans to build a modern, air-conditioned,
\nmultistory shop. They derive satisfaction from people who return
\nyear after year, and are pleased to find the shop still the same.<\/p>\n
\"And from still being able to provide them with 'a great
\nfind', or 'a book I've been looking everywhere for' and so on.
\nThis is our joy, our passion and why we still continue with
\nGanesha bookshop,\" Anita said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ganesha-bookstore-still-a-beloved-ubud-institution-1447893297",
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