A Bookstore with a Soul. Built by Those Who Know That Stories Need Structure Too.
Books Mandala
When a group of Software Development students realized they could use the inventory system they were building to bring order to a bookshop overflowing with stories, they set something in motion. What began as an effort to catalog a chaotic, floor-to-ceiling collection soon turned into something much bigger: one of Nepal’s very first e-commerce platforms, and the country’s first dedicated online bookstore. Launched as a passion project by the team at Mandala Tech, Books Mandala was built to make books more accessible, reading more joyful, and literary spaces more soulful.
What We Build Behind the Pages:
Every experience on BooksMandala.com is powered by the team at Mandala Tech. The Books Mandala experience; its design, performance, presence, and personality is powered entirely by Mandala Tech. As the technical team behind the bookstore, we have architected its full digital ecosystem. From the backend to the branding, here’s what we do:
At Mandala Tech, Books Mandala is where our code meets cultureand where every line written helps a story find its next reader.
What Drives Us
At Mandala Tech, we choose to build things that matter to us, and to the communities we serve. Books Mandala is one of those projects that sits at the intersection of both.
What began as a tool to organize shelves has become something far greater: a platform that today hosts the largest dedicated collection of books available online in Nepal. Behind that growth is a simple but powerful idea that access to literature should not be limited by geography, infrastructure, or circumstance.
As of today, Books Mandala hosts the largest dedicated collection of books available online in Nepal with over 40 thousand + unique titles available on the website for purchase. Behind that milestone is a deep belief in the power of literature, and in the power of building thoughtful systems to support it.
Nepal is a uniquely challenging environment for e-commerce. The market is small, the logistics are layered, regulations evolve faster than systems can adapt. But these challenges are exactly why we’ve stayed committed. Because we believe that meaningful problems deserve meaningful solutions and that even in difficult terrain, thoughtful technology can flourish.
Books Mandala now reaches readers across the world, shipping both South Asian and International titles to homes in cities far beyond our own. But the goal has never been scale for scale’s sake. It has been to create a trustworthy, joyful, and deeply human space for books to live, and to travel.
In a region where piracy is prevalent and quality is often compromised, Books Mandala offers an alternative: authentic books, sourced directly from rights-holding publishers and distributors. This isn’t just a business decision, it’s a cultural one. Because respecting stories means respecting the people who write them, print them, and read them.
We continue to work at Books Mandala because it allows us to do two things we care about deeply:
- Bring the world’s books into Nepal, and
- Give Nepali authors and publishers a path to reach the world
To build and maintain Books Mandala is, for us, to participate in something larger than code or commerce. It is to build a platform where stories cross borders, where integrity matters, and where the act of reading is both preserved and elevated by technology.
Where We Stand, Where We’re Headed
From bustling city streets in Kathmandu and Pokhara to quiet reading corners in Berlin, Sydney, and Tokyo, Books Mandala now reaches readers across Nepal and around the world.
But for us at Mandala Tech, this is just the beginning.
We’re working to bring the full spirit of BooksMandala.com; its warmth, its depth, its discovery-driven design to every screen and every home. Whether you're reading in Nepali or English, in Bhaktapur or Boston, our goal is the same: to make finding your next favorite book feel personal, joyful, and seamless.
As we look ahead, we’re focused on deepening and expanding the platform's capabilities. Current initiatives include:
- Smarter, AI-powered recommendations tailored to individual reading preferences
- Digital editions for convenient, device-friendly access
- Enhanced discovery features that make exploring books more intuitive and rewarding
We’re not only maintaining booksmandala.com, we’re building a full digital reading experience, designed for a world where borders are optional and stories are universal.
April 2018
Project Begins: Inventory system to catalog a family-run bookstore
October 2018
BooksMandala.com launches during Dashain; Nepal’s first online bookstore
December 2020
V2 Release: Refined design, improved performance
April 4, 2023
V3 Launch: Facelift with faster search, "Pay by URL", book request feature + more demanded features
Upcoming
V4 in development: wishlist, loyalty systems, smarter search, digital books
🚀 Want to Be Part of the Story?
At Mandala Tech, we’re always looking for thoughtful collaborators; Engineers, Designers, and Strategists who care about building systems that serve real needs.
If you’re interested in working on products like Books Mandala; platforms that grow with their communities and stand for something, we’d love to hear from you.