It has an eminently missable en-trance, even with its address in hand you could well get lost, and for days together few clients visit this outlet. Yet, Goa's Other India Book Store has a turnover which surpasses many other crowded outlets.
Based in Mapusa, this untypical not-for-profit organisation is doing good business. It is also contributing generously to promote Goa as a meeting point for ideas and information from across South Asia and across continents.
Lonely Planet, the influential publisher of guidebooks for global travellers, has labelled OIBS as "the best bookshop" in Goa, noting that the bookstore stocks no titles from Europe or America – all are published in Asia, Africa or Latin America.
OIBS was launched a decade ago by the well-known environmenta-list-lawyer couple Claude and Norma Alvares to promote alternative ideas through the distribution of like-minded books and periodicals. Today, it is managed locally and a trust guides its activities.