A couple of weeks ago, on one such
day, Vinod had called late in the evening.
There was some general chit chat and news that Srikanth, one of our
Abidian book-hunter friends, is getting married in October and could I come to
Abids next Sunday so that we could all meet before Srikanth gets busy. It was a damn good idea and as it is I wasn’t
visiting Abids on Sundays as regularly as I wanted to. I wanted to buy refills for my two ball-pens
and so, I thought I could make a quick dash to J K Pens at Abids and also see
if they have anything new in fountain pens.
So, off I went to Abids last Sunday morning.
Vinod had already reached and had
found a book. We met at the corner, he
showed me his first catch of the day, and told me Umashankar and Srikanth
wouldn’t be joining us that day. So, we
talked and walked along, looking at books piled and stacked and arranged. I looked at a couple of books, but not strong
enough nibbles. Then we went for chai
and biskits and spent half an hour talking books and discussing new and
soon-to-released books, looking forward especially to the release of Salman
Rushdie’s new novel, The Golden House (this one makes an
appearance later in the narrative … ).
Refreshed now, we resumed our search.
The usual Rs.20 and Rs.30 piles near the Irani hotel were missing and I
was disappointed. We ambled along.
I saw Keigo Higashino’s Malice, which I urged
Vinod to pick up. He did. The search was getting a bit desultory for
me. Then I perked up and saw the other
Rs.20 pile near Bata. This pile had
given me five good books last time. I
dove in. I found a Robert Parker title
immediately … Hush Money. I had this
title, but I picked it up anyway. I had
infected some of my colleagues with the book-bug recently and a free gift of a
book would be a good incentive to help the bug burrow in deeper. Soon I found another Robert Parker title … Thin
Air. I don’t have the book, but
I think I read the e-book. I was amused
and mused wryly … there was time some years ago when I searched and searched
hungrily for Robert Parker titles at Abids and never got a single one. I had paid comparatively large sums at Best
Books sales couple of years ago for Robert Parker books. And now, I was getting them for Rs.20
each! Ah … well …
I searched some more and found a
couple of titles, but I chose to retain the book that looked promising … Earl Emerson’s The Portland Laugher. I hadn’t heard the name of the writer. ‘A
Thomas Black Mystery,’ it said on the cover. A new detective? I’d need to find out more. I paid for these three books and looked
around. Vinod seemed to have sauntered
off.
I entered the nearby complex where
there were more stacks and shelves and piles.
I looked around. Books were there
all right, but there was also a strong stench emanating out of some
filthy bathroom. It was getting
unbearable. But I sort of stayed back
and went to the shelf at the corner where they usually stack ‘new’ books. The books are wrapped in transparent plastic,
so I presume they are new, but I strongly feel that they are some sort of
surplus stock. And I saw a hardback copy
of Salman Rushdie’s new book The Golden House, nicely sitting
there, looking all new and shiny and wrapped in plastic!! I was astonished … really. I had checked some 3-4 days back (remember,
all this is happening on September the 10th) and the book was supposed
to release in the second week of September, but one could pre-order it. And the online price for the hardback copy
was Rs.500 or so and this chap was selling it for Rs.300! I was hesitant. I had heard of and also seen (and also have) pre-release
proof copies of books finding their way into the grey market before the actual
release of the book. I wasn’t sure what
was inside, and I couldn’t check the book because once I opened the cover I had
to buy it. I didn’t want to take the
risk. Maybe I should have bitten the
bait.
I didn’t, and that’s what
matters. I came out and it was time to
leave. Vinod had disappeared or so it
seemed. I walked down to J K Pens and
saw that it was closed. Oh maan! Usually they are open on Sundays. Now I have to make another trip to Abids for
the refills. Disappointed, I drifted on
towards GPO to see if I could locate Vinod.
Aah … there he was … haggling with a bookseller. And he already had a stack of books under his
arm. Good haul, eh Vinod? I said my goodbyes and went to catch a bus
home. Oh God … that was a nightmare …
afternoon-mare? Autowalas wouldn’t go or
were charging both arms and legs. Only
way was to hop my way home … waited for half an hour till I got a bus to
Secunderabad … again, disinterested autowalas there too … no choice … from
there another bus to Tarnaka … and for the final lap, found a share-auto that
was going my way … an reached home hot, sweaty, and ravenously hungry …
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