Lucknow, Sept. 24 -- His gentle, light eyes carry hope. His lips always carry the flicker of a smile.

As you stroll through Love Lane in Hazratganj, thumbing through stand after stand of women's clothes, you may miss seeing him but he has been witness to the sea of changes in Lucknow - both the subtle ones as well as the not-so-subtle ones - for nearly four decades.

Eighty-year-old Mobin Beg sits quietly on a low stool, beside his display of some 30-odd English, paperback titles, waiting for someone to pick up one, even though he knows how reading habits have evolved and paper has given way to screens. But Beg remains a 'Momin', a believer in the lasting charm of books.

From Monday to Saturday, between 11 am and 5 pm, Beg can be found ...