What you see - A visit to Odyssey has just made us realize that the store which sells books and more may have been named that way for multiple reasons. Well, to begin with, reaching Odyssey is a journey in itself. That’s because you need to drive up a slope and park your two-wheeler at a place where you can’t help but worry that it may slide down while you are inside. But the parking personnel are kind enough to help you once they see you struggling while handling the weight on the slope.
You then climb up a few stairs, pass by a florist shop and enter the store, only to realize that the doorkeeper is too exhausted to even share a smile. Probably he has just been on an odyssey and therefore needs to recoup his energy to smile. But the moment you enter the store and explore the wares that it offers, you comprehend the most likely reason. The store stocks so many products that sifting through each of them is an odyssey in itself. Nonetheless, you will not get lost in the windfall because of the good display and ample circulation space.
What you get - Let’s begin with books. Odyssey claims to stock a whopping 80,000 titles of books, ranging from fiction and classics to the ones that help you improve your home, your technical knowledge, your communication skills and the like. It also has a good collection of books for children that include fairy tales, encyclopedias and the Harry Potter series. MetroMela also came across some interesting books that could help children understand negative emotions like jealousy and anger through pictures, incidents and reactions to those. Books that help you learn languages like Telugu, Spanish or even Welsh can be sourced from this place as well.
The best part, however, is that the entire collection of the store can be searched from, at the click of a button. You just have to enter the title of the book or the name of the author to assess the availability and the price of a certain book at the store. MetroMela tested the software for its readers and our opinion is that it is fast, convenient and very dependable. However, we also stumbled on a negative of the store, when we realized that two of the four books that we looked for were not available. It simply means that the store needs to improve on the time that it takes for stock replenishment. We were, however, told that we could place an order for the required books which would be made available within a couple of days.
Odyssey also stocks a huge range of stationery items like folders, business envelopes, diaries, paint brushes, files etc. Also on stock is a wide variety of gift products like clocks, mugs, wallets, wine glasses and bags. Worth a dekko are the trendy wall clocks, priced at over Rs. 1,000 per piece. Besides, if you are looking for some creative gift products, you could also take a look at the exotic Chinese artwork that seems like a painting but is actually embroidery. Another unique set of products that the store stocks, is the collection of Indian games that revolve around the Ramayana. We recommend these for their uniqueness and cultural hue. The Indian games are priced at Rs. 60 and above.
But if your kid is the urban-bred, video-games kind, you could also take a look at the extensive collection of CDs and DVDs that Odyssey has. In fact, Microsoft’s gaming console, Xbox 360 could also be sourced from here. The store personnel are good with the demo and seem willing to explain.
Our verdict - Is this odyssey worth your time? We believe it is worth a try.
Drive to – Odyssey,
#6-3-713,
Emerald House,
Amrutha Hills,
Punjagutta,
Hyderabad–500082.
Call at – 040-23414801/3/5
Anytime between - 9.30 AM - 9.30 PM
Visit at - www.odyssey.in
Posted on: Feb 16, 2007
