Karl Rock, a popular YouTuber and travel vlogger based in lndia, recently visited Mumbai's black market for books and shared his experience in a fascinating video.
The video starts with Karl introducing the market and explaining how it works. He says the market is located in the heart of Mumbai's business district and covers the streets surrounding Flora fountain. It consists of many sidewalk stalls, with stacks and stacks of books printed in English. He explains that most of the books sold in this market are counterfeit copies of popular titles, but there are also some legitimate copies available at much lower prices than in other parts of India or abroad.
One interesting aspect of Karl's video is his explanation of how to identify counterfeit books. He shows us examples of fake copies of popular titles like Fifty Shades of Grey and points out some telltale signs like poor quality paper, blurry text, and missing pages. He also warns viewers about the risks of buying counterfeit books, such as supporting illegal activities and potentially getting into trouble with customs officials when traveling abroad.
Karl emphasizes that he does not condone buying counterfeit goods but acknowledges that many people in India cannot afford to buy legitimate copies at full price. He also notes that publishers are giving Indians a massive discount on legitimate copies because per capita income is lower in India than in other countries.
