K. K. S. Murthy (1929 – 17 February 2025) was an aeronautics engineer and a book seller. He was the second-generation proprietor of the popular Select Book Shop in

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Early life

Murthy was brought up and lived in Bengaluru. He was the son of late K. B. K Rao, an advocate and a native of

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema". Kurnool is also famous for Diamond hunting as diamonds ca ...

in Andhra Pradesh who started a bookshop on the Museum Road in 1945. He worked as an engineer for 18 years at the

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bengaluru. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. H ...

, before taking over the family book business. His wife passed away in 2017. He did his aeronautical engineering at

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a Public university, public, Deemed university, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The ...

, Bengaluru.

Career

He was an aeronautics engineer and after his stint at HAL, he took over the running of the family bookshop, the Select Book store in 1984 and gave it a face-lift after moving it to its present location, off

Brigade Road Brigade Road is a large commercial centre and one of the busiest shopping areas in the heart of Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka State, India. It is a one-way connecting road from M G Road to Hosur Road, also connecting Residency Road and C ...

. In 2021, a documentary was made on him, titled, ''Ayda Pustaka'' which means, 'the selected book'. His son, K. Sanjay, is running the shop after his death. The Book Shop has a rare collection of over 9,000 books, including some from the 15th century. It is known for its rare second-hand books. Famous author and historian

Ramachandra Guha Ramachandra "Ram" Guha (born 29 April 1958) is an Indian historian, environmentalist, writer and public intellectual whose research interests include social, political, contemporary, environmental and cricket history. He is an important autho ...

is a regular visitor to the shop for over 40 years and playwright

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian playwright, actor, film director, Kannada writer, and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi films. His rise as a playwr ...

was also among the many, who frequently visited the shop. Author

Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author. His first novel, ''The Room on the Roof'', published in 1956, received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which includes 69 books ...

mentioned the Book store in his book, Confessions of a book lover. “Mr Bond wrote a letter to tell me what he was doing,” Murthy was quoted saying by

Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an English-language daily newspaper based in Hyderabad, India. Founded in 1938, it was initially launched as a Weekly newspaper, weekly and later converted into a daily. The newspaper's name reflects its origins in the ...

Death

Murthy died of age-related ailments on 17 February 2025 in Bengaluru. He ran the Select Book Shop and used to greet the regulars daily till three months before his death. His last rites were performed on Tuesday, 18 February 2025.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murthy, K. K. S. 1929 births 2025 deaths People from Bengaluru Indian Institute of Science alumni Aeronautical engineers