Pilgrims Book House
| Founded | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Ramanand "Rama" Tiwari |
| Country of origin | India |
| Headquarters location | B 27/98 A-8 Nawabganj Gali, Durgakund, Varanasi |
| Distribution | Worldwide |
| Nonfiction topics | Buddhism, Hinduism, Travel, Mountaineering, India, Nepal, Tibet, Languages |
| Official website | https://www.pilgrimsonlineshop.com |
Pilgrims Book House is a publishing and bookselling company founded in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1984.[1] It formerly published books under the Book Faith India imprint and now publishes under the Pilgrims Publishing imprint. Pilgrims Book House is currently headquartered in Varanasi, India.
Pilgrims Book House sells and publishes books in a number of South Asian and Western languages. Its areas of speciality include:
- Buddhism
- Hinduism and yoga
- mountaineering
- reprints of classic books on India, Nepal, Tibet and Central Asia
- languages (Nepali, Tibetan, Hindi)
- children's books
Company History
Pilgrims Book House was established by Puspa and Ramanand ("Rama") Tiwari in Kathmandu in 1984,[2] succeeding the Tiwaris' earlier book business in Varanasi. In the year 1999 they started a branch in Varanasi, and in 2006 a second branch opened in Delhi.
For many years the main Pilgrims Book House bookshop branch in Kathmandu was located in Thamel. It was one of the largest bookshops in Asia with hundreds of thousands of books on display. It was praised by several travel guidebooks and websites (including by Lonely Planet who called it "Kathmandu's best bookstore" ([3]).
On 16 May 2013 the Thamel branch of Pilgrims Book House caught fire and almost everything inside was burnt to ashes. Since the fire Pilgrims has operated two bookshops, one at JP Road, Thamel, Kathmandu and the other at Durgakund, Varanasi.
Pilgrims operates two websites, one for its bookstores and the other for its publishing division.
Publications
Pilgrims Book House has published more than 500 books. These include:
- H. W. Tilman, Mount Everest 1938, Pilgrims Publishing, Varanasi, ISBN 81-7769-175-9 (contains the infamous Appendix B on the Yeti)
- H. W. Tilman, Nepal Himalaya, Pilgrims Publishing, ISBN 81-7303-107-X
- W. Y. Evans-Wentz, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Pilgrims Publishing, Varanasi, ISBN 81-7769-099-X
- Paul Brunton, A Message from Arunachala, Pilgrims Publishing, Varanasi, ISBN 978-81-7769-785-8
- Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, The Lankavatara Sutra, Pilgrims Publishing, Varanasi, ISBN 81-7769-298-4
- A. P. Sinnett, Esoteric Buddhism, Pilgrims Publishing, Varanasi, ISBN 81-7769-432-4
- B. D. Tripathi, Sadhus of India, Pilgrims Publishing, Varanasi, ISBN 81-7769-631-9
- James Prinsep and O. P. Kejariwal, "Benares Illustrated" and "James Prinsep and Benares", Pilgrims Publishing, ISBN 81-7769-400-6
References
- ↑ Snyder, John (1 December 2013). "History". pilgrimsonlineshop.com. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ↑ Snyder, John (1 December 2013). "History". pilgrimsonlineshop.com. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ↑ Pilgrims Book House, lonelyplanet.com. Retrieved on 3 June 2017.
External links
- Pilgrims Book House - bookshop division website
- Pilgrims Publishing - publishing division website
- Jane and Michael Stern, "Nirvana Express", The New York Times, 19 February 2009 - mention of Rama Tiwari and Pilgrims Book House in review of Rory MacLean's Magic Bus: On the Hippie Trail From Istanbul to India
- Rabi Thapa and Victoria Cotino, "Pilgrims Book House kathmandu", The BAR: Buenos Aires Review, 5 July 2013 - report and photo on the 2013 fire.
- Mark Horrell, "Farewell to the Pilgrim’s Book House, Kathmandu", markhorrell.com, 22 May 2013 - description of Pilgrims Book House as it was before the 2013 fire.
- Shashank Shrestha, "After the Fire - Pilgrims Book House", 500px.com, ca. 2013 - article and many photos on the 2013 fire
- Ramanand Tiwari, seopati. com - article (in Nepali) profiling Ramanand Tiwari, the Pilgrims Book House proprietor