Natraj: The Green Bookshop

29/06/2026

It was a pleasure and a delight to welcome Dr. Bivash Pandav to our new location opposite Van Bhawan on Rajpur Road today.

Dr. Pandav, Senior Professor at the Wildlife Institute of India, is currently the Course Director of the Diploma Course underway at the Institute.

After completing his Master’s degree in 1993, Dr. Pandav carried out pioneering field research on marine turtles in Odisha as part of his Ph.D. dissertation. During this period, he tagged thousands of Olive Ridley turtles—both males and females—that migrate to the Odisha coast every winter.

Joining the faculty of the Wildlife Institute of India in 1999, he led a long-term monitoring programme on tiger and prey populations in Rajaji National Park, efforts that contributed significantly to Rajaji being declared a Tiger Reserve. In 2007, he was deputed to WWF-International, where, based in Kathmandu, he coordinated WWF’s tiger conservation programme across 14 landscapes in 11 tiger-range countries.

In 2021, Dr. Pandav joined the Bombay Natural History Society as its Director, where he played a key role in strengthening research and field studies that support wildlife managers across India’s protected areas.

An avid reader—much like former U.S. President Barack Obama—Dr. Pandav can never resist a well-stocked bookshop. His personal library would be a dream destination for any wildlife enthusiast, reflecting a lifelong passion for learning and conservation.

We at Natraj Publishers, Dehradun, feel extremely fortunate to have enjoyed Dr. Pandav’s patronage for more than three decades. We thank him for his visit and wish him continued success in his remarkable contributions to wildlife conservation and research.

18/05/2026

16/05/2026

Happy 92nd Birthday, Ruskin Bond! Ruskin Bond

Not every tribute comes from a stage.
This one comes from the world of books — printers, packers, binders, dispatch staff, booksellers, delivery workers, and all those quiet hands that help stories travel.

Because some writers do not belong only to readers.
They belong to everyone whose lives are touched by books.

From printing presses and warehouse corners to book cartons, delivery routes, and hands stained with ink —with warmth and gratitude, we celebrate our beloved author and storyteller, Ruskin Bond.


Ruskin Bond, Landour, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Solitude, Lone fox dancing, Books by Ruskin Bond

07/04/2026

लेखक और लेखनी… (Lekhak aur Lekhani)

A thoughtful conversation with Upendra Arora of Natraj: The Green Bookshop, Dehradun, featured by Amar Ujala.

We sincerely appreciate Amar Ujala for creating thoughtful segments like “Lekhak aur Lekhani” that recognise and celebrate booksellers — the often unseen but deeply committed participants in the world of books. It is heartening to see a platform that acknowledges the important role bookshops and booksellers continue to play in nurturing reading culture.
In this conversation, Upender ji speaks about something simple yet deeply meaningful: the importance of taking an interest in the life around us. Books, he says, play a significant role in that. They nurture curiosity, deepen observation, and connect us more closely with the world we inhabit.

He also reflects on the changing ways of reading today. Digital and audiobooks have certainly widened access and created new readers, which is welcome. Yet, he gently reminds us that something special lives within bookshops: the pleasure of browsing, the chance discovery of a book, and the quiet sense of community among readers.

We thank Amar Ujala for inviting him and for giving space to conversations that keep the world of books alive and visible.

Full episode- https://youtu.be/GCkKEnM3rJ0?si=OMoXLg8FTAyy16Ud

14/03/2026

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman


Discover the haunting, heart-breaking post-apocalyptic TikTok sensation.

Deep underground, thirty-nine women are kept in isolation in a cage. Above ground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus?

Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollection of their lives before. But, as the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone an outcast in the corner.

Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others’ escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground. The woman who will never know men.

14/03/2026

Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica


It all happened so quickly. First, animals became infected with the virus and their meat became poisonous. Then governments initiated the Transition. Now, ‘special meat’ - human meat - is legal.

Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans - only no one calls them that. He works with numbers, consignments, processing. One day, he’s given a gift to seal a deal: a specimen of the finest quality. He leaves her in his barn, tied up, a problem to be disposed of later.

But she haunts Marcos. Her trembling body, and watchful gaze, seem to understand. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost - and what might still be saved.
bewithabook

14/03/2026

Taipei Story by Rebecca F. Kuang


TAIPEI STORY is the electrifying new novel by bestselling literary phenomenon Rebecca F. Kuang, a profoundly moving coming-of-age story that explores first love, second language and final goodbyes – all set against the backdrop of one unforgettable summer in Taipei.

Yale student Lily Chen arrives in Taipei hungry: for family, for culture, for connection. But her summer of discovery quickly unravels. Her classes are grueling, her roommate unbearable, and a reckless, deeply awkward trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon ignites vicious gossip. Then her grandfather dies. Grieving and adrift, Lily must confront her own questions about the culture she inherited but never fully understood. She embarks on a wryly funny, often devastating search for understanding: of herself, her family, and the meaning of home.

25/02/2026

Happy World Bookmark Day!

As publishers, booksellers, and voracious readers ourselves, we’ve always believed a bookmark is never just a bookmark.

Sometimes it’s handmade paper.
Sometimes a beloved bookstore receipt.
And sometimes — a hair clip, rubber band, sock, stocking, handkerchief, visiting card, ticket, or pressed leaf… whatever is closest when the story won’t let you go.

A bookmark isn’t merely a placeholder.
It’s a quiet promise to return.

Every tucked-away scrap carries a memory — of where we paused, what we felt, who we were in that moment.

Today we celebrate every ribbon, receipt, and improvisation that has faithfully held a reader’s place.

May your markers always lead you back to wonder.