A Trip to the Bookstore

Personal


Well, I am back at home, and all set for college to re-open. So, this is my first personal post. From now onwards, every personal post will be headed by a ‘personal’ keyword.

The topic is abstract all right. A few days ago, I walked into a famous, opulent bookstore. It showcased thousands of books, on various categories. Though books of similar categories were stacked together, surprisingly however the category itself was not mentioned anywhere. For example, the Engineering books should have an Engineering tag put up above or something like that. So it becomes a bit tough, to search a book, depending on a category. Nevertheless, as a reputed (okay, am bragging here) book hunter cum book worm, I started my search. 

I did not have any particular book in mind, at first. I had thought initially, that I would purchase a book related to my Computer Science subjects. But I soon gave up the idea. Next in my mind, the burning desire to purchase fiction grew once again. I saw ‘O Jerusalem’ by D. Lapierre and L. Collins. Was about to purchase it, but hesitated. Thought of searching some more first. 

Soon after, I came across a Japanese - English Dictionary. Was a cool thing, really. Especially because I love the language, and many things related to Japan. But the cost was 250 bucks. Should I really spend that much amount on it? And the book was rather small as well. I decided against it, especially since it was Japanese- English dictionary and NOT the other way around. Making it highly inconvenient for me. So I decided to move on.

Suddenly, a book title came to my mind. A book which I had thought of purchasing later, preferably from Kolkata, since its not available in my home town. The book was ‘Imagining India’, written by the ex-Infosys co-founder, Nandan Nilekani. I searched and searched, but alas could not find it anywhere. Finally, I decided to ask a person employed there to help people locate books. But seeing the expression on his face, when I narrated the name of the book to him, was somewhat disappointing. He frowned as if I had mentioned a Greek word. Apparently, he had never heard of the book, but said that it would be available in a few days, on placing an order. My disappointment increased. I gave up hope.

I was just about to leave the shop, empty handed, but decided to give it one last shot. 
I moved to general non-fiction category. There were a few autobiographies, and biographies, including Benazir Bhutto, and Pervez Musharraf’s. Also, on a few other Indian personalities. And, sitting on its rack, on the absolute left, like a culprit hiding from the police, was the book I wanted. Imagine India indeed. I picked it up. Though quite fat, the book was not heavy. And it was the only book still covered in plastic. As if it was specially designed for me only.

The owner himself, looked flabbergasted after seeing the book I dropped in front of him. ‘When did this book arrive?’, he asked his assistant, as if such a book should never have been exposed to the general public. Anyways, I bought the book and left the shop. Am currently reading it, and I think I made the right decision in purchasing it. Anyways, will write a book review, after I finish it.

Hope you liked this post. Thanking you all readers as always.

Take care.