MUMBAI: Monday, March 25 will mark an elegy to the steady decline in the reading habits of suburban children. The day will bring curtains down on one of the last surviving circulating libraries in the city. The suburb of Santacruz (west) will bid farewell to Rajesh

which has decided to roll down shutters after being in business for 37 years.

Way back in 1982, the family of Rajesh and Ashwin Bauva launched this bookstore near Podar School on

Road. Last month on February 22, 52-year-old Ashwin died suddenly after suffering a heart attack. "He did not have a history of cardiac disease. Yet it was over within half an hour," Rajesh said.

Within days, the family decided to wind up shop. Ashwin's son Jainam said, "It breaks our hearts too but what is the alternative? We had been planning to close for a while. Since it was started in 1982, the library has built up a collection of 20,000 books. Now there is neither the ability to invest in new stock nor cope with the spiralling rentals that the location commands. Shops in this locality are paying a monthly rent of Rs 30,000-35,000. We cannot afford that amount, and cannot move elsewhere either since we live nearby and commuting long distances is not practical."

Eighteen-year-old Jainam knows too well that children these days read little. His uncle Rajesh said, "Most clients who frequented the library were students of the nearby Podar School. Over the years, most of them have stopped reading because they are immersed in cellphones. If they read, they do so using gadgets like Kindle."

The library has been disposing its treasure of books at half rate before it rolls down shutters March 25. The initial date was March 31 but the landlord has reportedly found a new tenant and is keen that they clear the space. "We tried to outsource the running of the library but people want to take over our books without paying a penny," rued Jainam.