R. Sriram, CEO of Crossword Bookstore chain talks about how he started his career and the retail industry in India. In late June 2006 Sriram announced that he is quitting Crossword, he will remain with the company until August 2006.

I met with Sriram a few weeks ago in Mumbai and he spoke at length about how he started his career,his love for books, and the retail boom in India. Sriram is a pioneer in the retail industry in India and has helped start and grow two bookstores: Walden in Hyderabad and Crossword in Mumbai.

It was about 20 years ago that Landmark, a well-known bookstore chain based in Chennai unleashed what has become a fairly lucrative market in India: bookstores. Sriram started his career at Landmark quite by accident and learnt the ropes of the trade of book retailing in his first job. After a few years along with two of his colleagues (one of them was Anita, who is now his wife) moved to Hyderabad to start Walden Bookstore.

In 1992 Sriram and Anita relocated to Mumbai to start the Crossword chain of bookstores. The couple along with a dedicated staff spent over a decade in creating and expanding the Crossword chain of bookstores. The couple helped create a unique chain of bookstores, where the comfort of the readers was their primary focus. The wanted to encourage readers to drop by, browse, and buy books.

Sriram was also responsible for setting up the Crossword Book Award, which is modeled after the famous Booker Prize. The Crossword Book Award is the first of its kind introduced in India.

Sriram is passionate about his books and it shows both at his home and the stores, where he has a special section called "Sriram Recommends." He is a voracious reader, and still finds time to read books.

Sriram lives with his wife Anita, and their new daughter Kavya in Mumbai.

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