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Krishna Gowda, or Krishna as everyone calls him, owner of Bookworm, has that rare quality that I often look for in my colleagues – PHD – Passion, Hunger and Desire! As he celebrates his silver jubilee in the world of books, Krishna continues to be driven by his passion for books and his customers, an abiding hunger to learn, and above all an ardent desire to make the world a better place by throwing his weight behind the right causes.

Krishna is the reason why Bookworm holds a special place in the hearts of booklovers. To sustain a business for 25 years,one must remain relevant and constantly reinvent oneself, and Krishna has done that time and again. The pandemic tested him (like it did everybody else) but he quickly pivoted to taking orders on WhatsApp and delivering books via Dunzo, Swiggy and speed post. He built a social media presence and held regular author signings.

When Westland announced its closure, Krishna had his hands full, as orders started pouring in from across the country, and even authors came to promote the final print copies of their books. Bookworm is a firm favourite of writers such as Ramachandra Guha, Anita Nair and Suresh Menon. When former Prime Minister Deve Gowda’s biography Furrows in the Field was released, he personally spent an hour at Bookworm on January 3, 2022. Rahul Gandhi and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took a break at Bookworm during the JanaAashirwadaYatre campaign on April 7, ’18.

As someone who has known Krishna for almost two decades, I have seen him grow from selling books on the pavement of MG Road to having the most sought-after address on Church Street. Modest to a fault, success has not changed him a bit. He never forgets his roots and supports his extended family back in his village in Rangasamudra (near Mysuru). He knows his customer’s interests and recommends books that they would like the most.

What makes Bookworm unique is that it has a huge collection of both old and new books. The store’s highlight is its treasure trove of over 1,00,000 children’s books, most of them priced at Rs 50! My own association with Krishna has grown since the publication of my book Gifted. It sold briskly, thanks mainly to Krishna’s word-of-mouth publicity. He personally added a further 20 per cent discount to the regular 20 per cent, believing that it would contribute to a good cause.

What makes Bookworm unique is that it has a huge collection of both old and new books. The store’s highlight is its treasure trove of over 1,00,000 children’s books, most of them priced at Rs 50! My own association with Krishna has grown since the publication of my book Gifted. It sold briskly, thanks mainly to Krishna’s word-of-mouth publicity. He personally added a further 20 per cent discount to the regular 20 per cent, believing that it would contribute to a good cause.

One of my most touching moments was during a visit to his home. After having a coffee with his wife Uma and 80-year-old mother, Uma gave me a parting gift – a book signed by Malala Yousafzai. I did not want to take it, as Krishna had gifted it to her! But they would not take ‘no’ for an answer. Krishna then dropped me back home on his scooter on which I had arrived. Krishna has enriched my personal collection with some of the rarest of rare books – from a book signed by the Mysore Maharaja to Gandhi’s first edition of My Experiments With Truth, from a signed The Golden Book of Tagore to a MF Hussain signed Story of a Brush.


My personal highlight was when he managed to get me the first edition of Series No. 11 to 69 (from 1969 to 1974) of my childhood favourite Amar Chitra Katha. Every time he comes across a rare book he gives me the first right of refusal – and I have never refused till date! Krishna’s vision is to build an institution, to make Bookworm more than just a bookstore and also a place for coffee and conversations.


After the pandemic he moved to a larger space on Church Street. He hosted an event there in December 2021 around my book on disability, The Invisible Majority, making sure to provide wheelchair access. The last time I spoke to him, he said his dream is to build an antiquarian section with rare books. There is one thing you can never fault Krishna for – dreaming BIG!