Sad news for fans of Basheer Graphic Books, the iconic store at Bras Basah Complex known by the local creative community as the country’s best resource for books about art.
According to various media reports, Basheer Ahamed died at the age of 83 in his hometown in Tamil Nadu, India last December. While his 54-year-old son and successor Abdul Nasser kept news of the man’s death out of social media, it was only recently that customers learned of Basheer’s passing. It was last week that local artist and illustrator James Leong paid tribute to the man, who’s remembered as a brawny bookseller who used to lug around suitcases of hard-to-find design books to various agencies and clientele in town.
According to The Straits Times, he died after falling down the stairs. His family — who were in India with him for the holidays — held a funeral for him, but made no mention of it on the Basheer Graphic Books Facebook page.
“His death marks the end of an era. Of all the booksellers who carried books to the offices in the 1980s and 1990s, my father was the last one,” Abdul Nasser told ST.
Hardcovers and setbacks
Basheer Graphic Books, Singapore. if you’re looking for design books and magazines at cheaper price, this is the place to be. pic.twitter.com/wbmHT8LeNf
— lula mae barnes (@skinnymarie) June 27, 2017
Basheer started his book business back in 1985 as a traveling salesman, going around the country with heavy suitcases filled with books that revolved around design and other creative arts. His son, Abdul Nasser, joined in the business when he was 19, and helped to carry the suitcases. As you can gather from the dozens of hardcover coffee table books about art, those suitcases aren’t light.
“My muscles became so thick. My friends joked that I was a bodybuilder,” he told ST in an interview.
It was only in 1992 that the actual store in Bras Basah was opened, and it expanded to as many as seven other Basheer Graphic Books outlets in the region during its heyday. Today, however, only its original Singapore store and an outlet in Kuala Lumpur remains. Abdul Nasser continues to run the business, while his father moved back to Tamil Naidu after retiring.
A nice old fashioned bookshop that I visited today specialising in art, graphics, design, architecture type books. Don’t see too many of such anymore 😊👌🏻👍🏻 #basheergraphicbooks cr juaeryung pic.twitter.com/7MqzyeKCSi
— JuAeRyung주애령❤️JKS장근석 (@eeljuaeryung) January 14, 2018
The store here, however, has been (and still is) a beloved refuge for the thousands of art students in Singapore — a treasure trove of resources about everything visual arts and publications not sold in mainstream bookstores. For generations, Basheer Graphic Books has been supporting the arts community, with Abdul Nasser often taking pity on struggling students and sold them his books on credit. He would also allow patrons to freely browse the books and magazines in-store, refusing to chase people out for not buying anything.
With news of his death becoming known, Singapore’s creative arts community has been paying homage to Basheer’s legacy.
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