Haziq and Mohi of Hyderabad:The search of old story lovers by scholars and historians end.The heaven of rare antique books.

Haziq and Mohi of Hyderabad; haven for historians, scholars and students from around the world. “A store like this…gives us glimpses into our past and holds immense historical value”

Books are my weakness, so when ever I go to any city I use to visit book shops of that city. Because:---Books have given me access to the world’s best wisdom, and have stretched my mind past any conceivable horizon.

Books are the ultimate form of self-education, and the ultimate tool for personal empowerment.Many people have dreamed bigger because of the books they have read.

Recently I was in Hyderabad. To quench my thirst for wisdom by books.I googled and zeroed at Haziq and Mohi’s Book shop of Hyderabad.So one fine day, with my Canon Camera,I reached  at Haziq and Mohi’s book store.

Ibrahim Bin Khalid Bafana

On reaching at Haziq and Mohi of Hyderabad, I realized that it is heaven of rare antique books.A right place, where search of old stories by scholars and historians end. Situated in Murghi chowk a small lane after Chowk Masjid near Laad Bazar area.

“Haziq and Mohi” is one place where anyone looking for something different or a particular book from a certain period would never be disappointed. Author William Dalrymple reportedly researched his historical novel “White Mughals.”

On reaching there “Ibrahim bin Khalid Bafana” of 4^th    Bafana’s generation attended me.He maintains the shop.400-sq-feet store was stacked with books from floor to ceiling. There was very little grandeur to suggest that this 50-year-old bookstore is a haven for historians, scholars and students from around the world.

Mohammad bin Salim Ali Bafna, migrated from Yemen, and used to work for the then Nizam government,” Ibrahim bin Khalid Bafana told me. With the passing away of Mr. Salim Bin Ali Bafana, his siblings have vowed to run the shop with the same passion.

Haziq and Mohi book shop was started more than half a century ago by Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bafanna, after inheriting a huge collection of precious books from his grandfather Salim Bin Ali Bafanna.

Most of them are decades, if not centuries, old, and cover an eclectic variety of subjects: from history and philosophy to mysticism, religion, medicine, Islamic art and architecture, art, poetry, architecture, mysticism, religion, music, and medicine. One can find Urdu, Persian, and Arabic literature and dictionaries, old census reports of Hyderabad, and out-of-print historical records. 

The books at Haziq and Mohi are priced according to their age. If the book is only half a century old, you can buy it for somewhere between Rs 3,000- Rs 5,000.

If the book has seen centuries of wear and tear, the price can shoot up to Rs 20,000-Rs 50,000. Certain books are only sold in photocopies as they are the only pieces available.

After independence. The grand old libraries of the city’s aristocrats were of no use to the younger generations, who were downsizing their living quarters by moving into smaller houses.

Hence these books found a home in Haziq and Mohi as its proprietor was always on the lookout for new additions to his collection.

Haziq and Mohi is only one among the many stores that Bafanna owned. His collection was so huge that he set up a couple of others around the city.