What you see – Pragati book store, which started in 1974 has many centers across Pune today. One of them is aptly located at Fergusson College Road amidst the popular colleges of the city. As you enter this book shop, the distinct smell of new books and voices of students rents the air.

What you get – The two-level store has state syllabus text books from class 1 to 12. In addition, they have college curriculum books for arts, science and commerce fields. The USP of the store is their large collection of competitive entrance exam books for MBA (Master of Business Administration), BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration), MCA (Master of Computer Applications) and MCM (Master of Computer Management), apart from medical and engineering studies books.

They also have a large collection of fiction books from Stephen King, Nancy Drew, Harry Potter series etc. In fact we also saw some translated versions of English autobiographies and popular books in Marathi here. For the younger lot, they have drawing books and books that teach alphabets and numbers. The center has a great collection of art material for kids with creativity, in the form of pencils, paints, brushes, color palettes etc.

Pragati has an extensive collection of stationery and notebooks with beautiful sets of pens ranging from Rs. 5-3000 here. You can find pen drives, headphones and school essentials like water bottles, school bags, tiffins etc available at a great price range. MetroMela liked their collection of compass boxes and beautiful pouches available in Indian and imported variety. For engineering and architecture students, related paraphernalia / stationery is stocked here.

Our verdict – The book center caters to all the needs of students and has a great collection of stationery. The customer service is quick yet personalized. Pay and Park facility is available outside the center.

Anytime between – 9 AM – 9 PM (Closed on Sundays)