The Illiterati Café and Bookstore in Dharamshala

104 WLT SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2016 photo : abhinav chandel Outpost In the foothills of the Himalayas, a few hundred meters below the Dalai Lama’s temple in Dharamshala, on a quiet, winding , monsoon-eroded road next to a motorcycle garage, sits the bookstore/café Illiterati . It has no sign outside, only a chalkboard with a weekly quote, often from Fernando Pessoa, which hangs above the bohemian characters who frequent the balcony. Within, an airy, light-filled treasure trove of books awaits, with thick, hand-made wooden tables, fresh flowers atop them, a piano and other instruments for guests to play at whim, and, at the back, two balconies that open up onto the mountains. Although a few of the books, which cover an impressive range of genres and cultures, are in Hindi, most are in English, which, given the obscurity and rarity of some of the titles, required no small effort on behalf of proprietor Yannick Ramaekers to hunt down across India. Nearly every inch of every wall is covered in books, as is the grand, central coffee table, strewn with the new titles picked up, browsed, and abandoned there each day. Ramaekers, a Belgian traveler who speaks fluent Hindi and has lived in India for more than a decade, opened the bookstore /café in 2012 as a means to support his family. Perhaps indefinite at first, his aims evolved as the character of his eccentric little bookstore evolved. Influenced by the characters drawn to its atmosphere, Ramaekers had soon created a haven in the mountains where people from around the world (citizens of fifty-plus countries might walk the narrow paths of Dharamshala any given day) could talk about anything and everything, an open forum where less-accepted and more controversial thoughts could be explored by people from a multitude of cultures. Since its inception, Illiterati’s reputation has spread almost exclusively by word of mouth. Although it has never thrived financially, it has become a cult institution among travelers, expats, Tibetans, and Indians from around the subcontinent, all drawn to its unconventional essence and the people one might encounter there. Although Ramaekers departed India in 2016, Illiterati has been kept alive by a group of local entrepreneurs who couldn’t bear the idea of its demise. Since then, little has changed, with Ramaeker’s guiding spirit still at the helm. An essential stop for literary-minded travelers in the Himalayan region, Illiterati is also one of the most important English-language bookstores in India. Located below McLeod Ganj on Jogibara Road, it has no address, but every taxi driver knows where it is. David Joshua Jennings was born in Oklahoma in 1985. His photography, which began as an outgrowth of his nonfiction writing, explores globalization, alienation, desire, and cultural dissolution. India is one of many homes. The Illiterati Café and Bookstore in Dharamshala by David Joshua Jennings Visit the WLT website to see David Jennings’s photos from India

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