NMACC opens The Library, pairing books, art, food with a stage for readings

The interiors of The Library at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre make an impression, but its collection is still finding a voice

Mumbai has got another cultural space with The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre’s (NMACC) “The Library”, which opened on November 1, bringing together literature, art, design and food. 

 

Designed to encourage visitors to slow down, browse and spend time with books, it begins with the Edit Room, a transitional space with a long coffee bar, high chairs and an indoor banyan tree. It is cosy, polished, and faintly intimidating at first, as spaces this carefully put together often are. But the intimidation doesn’t last long.

 

Readers expecting the familiar sensory experience of the smell of books, rows of paperbacks, and the quiet satisfaction of browsing without an agenda will find something different. The Library’s interiors are too considered, and the setting too beautiful for an ordinary, rustic bookshop.  

 

 

In the dining area, large-format deluxe editions line the walls from floor to ceiling, and at first glance, they look like a design choice. But a closer inspection is bound to find a book to pique one’s interest.

 

Collectible Marvel comics and graphic novels sit alongside books on artists such as SH Raza, and alongside titles on food, history, art and culture. Indian and international stories share the shelves without either seeming out of place.   

 

The books are not alienating either. One doesn’t need an art history degree or a reading list to find something here, whether one is a serious reader, a curious browser or someone who just wants to sit down with a comic.

 

At the centre of the space is a small stage for lectures, book readings and open mics, which adds a programming layer to The Library. A full list of planned events is on the NMACC website.

 

Food is part of the experience, too. The menu looks elaborate at first, but the offering suits the unhurried pace. Visitors can move easily between reading, eating and looking at the art around them.

 

The space appears to understand the pleasure of lingering. It is comfortable without being dark, which matters to anyone who has tried to read in a dim café and ended up squinting at the page. 

 

A spiral staircase leads to the mezzanine, a cosy nook that feels almost like a hideout. This is where The Library takes on the feel of a more conventional bookstore, with paperbacks lining the shelves and space for visitors to browse, settle down with a cup of tea or coffee, and read at their own pace. Books are also available for purchase, allowing visitors to take home a discovery from their time there. Photographs tracing Mumbai's transformation over the years line the walls along the staircase, evoking the character of an old South Mumbai Parsi home, while Disney-inspired Indian artwork adds another visual layer. 

 

The interiors make an impression, but the selection is where The Library has most room to grow. Parts of the collection lean commercial, with self-help books and familiar popular reads. Such titles are an accessible entry point, particularly for people who don’t regularly visit bookstores. But for a cultural institution, The Library could do more to introduce readers to writers, artists and subjects they wouldn’t otherwise encounter, and to stock titles that conventional retail doesn’t.

 

There are signs of that ambition. Persepolis, by Iranian-French author Marjane Satrapi, who died in June this year, sits alongside Amar Chitra Katha and different renditions of Indian mythological texts, a mix that hints at what The Library could build on.

 

The Library's opening adds another dimension to NMACC's wider cultural offering. The centre has sought to bring international productions and artists to Indian audiences while creating space for Indian art, design and performance. The Library extends that proposition into literature, making books and reading part of the cultural experience it offers.

 

A sharper curatorial voice could turn The Library from a pleasant place to spend an afternoon into a destination for readers seeking something beyond the familiar. For now, it offers an invitation to settle beneath the banyan tree, order a cup of tea and discover a book along the way.