Sunday at Abids on 3rd June 2018

I was going to Abids after three or four months.  Usually, I decide at least four to five days in advance, but this time I was not sure till the morning of the 3^rd whether I wanted to go or not wanted to go.  It was the heat, probably.  I like to hop on to a bus to Abids on a Sunday morning; the roads are clear, the buses have few passengers, and it is a nice long ride for twenty rupees from my house.  I had planned a couple of stopovers at Secunderabad to buy my staple magazines and also Kannada and Tamil newspapers and magazines for my parents.  In fact, this Secunderabad trip was my only plan for the Sunday; Abids was an afterthought.  So, with all this on my mind, going by bus was not going to be very convenient; what with the heat and all.  I called up Anand on the morning; he comes to drive on Sundays.

So, here I was at Abids at around eleven in the morning; after finishing my magazine and newspaper shopping at Secunderabad.  There is a usual route I (others too, Vinod, Umashankar…) take at Abids on Sundays and I was looking up and down – books on shelves, books spread out on the pavements – at the first stretch of our search.  I then saw Umashankar in the distance, looking dapper in his Ray Ban.  So, we chatted for a while and then waited for Vinod at the Irani café.  Vinod was unusually late and anyway, he came straight to the café and we talked over two cups of tea each and samosas for quite a long time.  We covered books and films, but politics was the longest.  And then we set out, but I saw that it was already 12.15, and I had only around half an hour to forty five minutes at the most at Abids.  We began the second stretch, but I saw that some regular Abids shops that were usually closed on Sundays were open and so some of the booksellers weren’t there because they couldn’t spread out their wares on the pavement in front of their shops.  Aah … Id-ul-Fitr is coming close … that’s why … 

I didn’t find anything even remotely interesting even after half an hour and wondered if I’d go home empty handed from Abids that day.  I had reached the bottom of the road and I had checked piles of books and now, I was ready to throw in the towel.  With heat increasing and interest declining, I saw a book by Ngaio Marsh on the shelf.  I had read about the author earlier and knew that she is a crime writer and that she has created her own detective.  Though at that time I didn’t remember the detective’s name (I should have seen the back cover … it is there … A Roderick Alleyn Mystery).  I was not very hopeful, but I asked the price.  He said 80.  I kept it back on the shelf.  He said 60 de do.  I said bhai, tab se dekhroon, ek bhi kitaab nahin mila, abhi ek dikha hai, chalees detoon.  For some reason, he agreed.  Good chap.  That was my first book … Ngaio Marsh’s Opening Night …  

I was relieved.  The last time at Abids was dismal; I returned empty-handed.  I crossed the street and wanted to take a last look at the ‘Rs. 20’ pile on the pavement.  I saw a familiar name, McBain, on a book cover.  Could it be Ed McBain?  I opened the cover and saw that it is indeed.  Again, I had read about the author.  While doing some online reading about Police Procedural crime fiction, Ed McBain’s name came up often as one of the pioneers of this genre.  But on this book it said A Matthew Hope Mystery.  I thought I’d check on the spot.  On what else should I use all that mobile data?  Oh, Ed McBain was a prolific writer; apart from a number of standalone novels, he has two series’ – the 87^th Precinct series and the Matthew Hope series.  The former novels were police procedurals and Matthew Hope is a lawyer-detective.  I was a tad disappointed that I did not land an 87^th Precinct novel, but I picked up The House that Jack Built anyway. 

I found another book with another familiar name on the cover … Sara Paretsky … the book titled Women on the Edge.  And then in small print on the cover it said “and 14 classic tales of mystery and heart-pounding suspense.”  I saw the contents page and only one other name was familiar … John D. MacDonald.  All stories were about “women on the edge,” the blurb on the back said.  I decided to buy it.  For twenty rupees, it would be total timepass.     

Arre bhai, for three books, you made us read through this whole thing?? 

A small haul at Abids … 2 Parkers & a new writer and the 'almost' new Rushdie book ...

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 10^th) 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 …   

Abids … after more than a year … friends, chai, banter, and a 6-book haul of CF novels …

It was a wonderful feeling to be at Abids on Sunday among friends and books after more than a year … the lure of the book was always there, but the hook of friendship was stronger … many’s the time I wanted to go to Abids during the past 18 months … something or the other and sometimes lethargy would force me to cancel the Abidian plan … and on one of the days during the previous week, Vinod bumped into me at a newspaper stand near Secunderabad railway station … he was on his way to his office, I had a day off and had gone there to buy my weekly stock of magazines … we spoke very briefly … ‘haven’t seen you in Abids for a long time, Jai,’ he said … I mumbled something ... that was the trigger, sort of … this Sunday, I have to visit Abids, I came home and told Shruti … her sister is here and they had planned some shopping that Sunday morning … So, on Sunday, the 2^nd of July, I went this-a way, they went that-a way …

I got a direct bus to Abids soon enough from near my home and after a leisurely 45-minute ride in an almost empty bus on empty Sunday morning roads, I reached Abids … I spied Vinod soon enough … ‘hi, hello, welcome’ later, we went towards the Irani hotel, looking at books and picking up Umashankar and Srikanth along the way … Umashankar had decided to jettison his facial fur and was decidedly looking dapper, what with his ray ban and all … the meeting at the Irani hotel was all about films, books, politics, and general mutual enquiries … and chai, Osmania biskits, and samosas … I had taken along a book for Vinod, which I gave him after the chai & banter session ...

And then we were back on the streets … for a long time I didn’t find anything that interested me … and I went over to the other side of the road … a heap of books selling at Rs.20 each … actually there are many heaps like this across Abids, one needs patience and lots of luck … with me, both are in very short supply and so, my expectations were not very high … I dug in, and started looking for books that looked like they might belong to the crime fiction family … one by one I picked them up … Vinod pointed out a book by Ross Thomas and asked me to pick it up … four of the books had names of unfamiliar (to me!) writers, including Ross Thomas’ … and two books were by authors familiar, Simon Brett and P. D. James … six was a good number … I read the short descriptions, blurbs, author bios, etc. of the four books with names of unfamiliar writers and all that seemed appetizing enough for me to decide to keep all of them … so, I got six books, all in one place and all for a princely sum of Rs.120/- … great, na? I was mighty pleased with myself … after this haul, I slackened a bit and after moving around desultorily for a while, I decided to call it a day … in the evening, I decided to satisfy my curiosity and tried to find out about the ‘unfamiliar’ authors … and I did find out that these authors are not all that obscure as they appeared to me when I read their names first … but then, who am I …

Amanda Cross is the pen name of Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, an American academic who taught at Columbia University for around 30 years and feminist author of academic books.  Under the name Amanda Cross, she wrote 14 Kate Fansler mysteries.  Like the author, Kate Fansler is an English professor, and the books have sold around one million copies.  And In the Last Analysis is the first in the series and the first I started reading.  It is slow reading now, mainly because the pace itself is slow.

Death on Black Dragon River is the second in the series of 4 crime novels that Christopher West wrote after his visit to China.  His hero is Wang Anshuang, a detective in the Beijing Criminal Investigation Department.  West says something very interesting: “I started writing crime fiction in the 1990s.  At the time, nobody was setting crime novels in China, which I thought was crazy. This was the world's most populous nation, with the world's oldest continuous culture but a thoroughly modern determination to become the richest and most powerful country not just in Asia but the world.  A series of four novels came out during that decade - which turns out to have been a pivotal one in China's development, as it truly began to shake off (and come to terms with) its Maoist past and embrace the market system (with all its opportunities for criminal activity!)”    

Twilight at Mac’s Place is by Ross Thomas, who it is said, is known for his witty thrillers that expose the mechanisms of professional politics.  He also wrote novels under the name Oliver Bleeck. 

This author was a real surprise for me.  She is prolific and has written two popular mystery series, the Irene Adler Holmes suspense novels and this series of 27 novels, called the Midnight Louie mystery series.  Midnight Louie is a slightly overweight fictional black cat.  Each volume of the series is told from the point of view of the cat's "roommate", Temple Barr, a freelance public relations consultant, and from the point of view of Midnight Louie, the cat himself.  And Catnap is the first in the series.  So, that is also good.

 

Simon Brett has been a favourite for some time now.  His Fethering Mysteries featuring Jude and Carole, are delightful and I have read all of them.  Corporate Bodies is part of Brett’s Charles Paris series.  Charles Paris is an actor and an amateur detective.  As he doesn’t find much work coming his way, he takes up all sorts and any sort of acting assignments and find himself in unlikely roles in unusual places; and crime happens and Charles Paris starts exercising his grey cells.  I have read some novels in this series and one doesn’t come across Simon Brett novels that easily among secondhand books, so seeing Corporate Bodies at Abids was a welcome surprise.   

I must confess that though I have a couple of novels by P. D. James bought at Abids, I haven’t read them.  She is known for her Adam Dalgliesh mysteries, but An Unsuitable Job for a Woman is the first of the two novels which features Cordelia Gray, a female private detective.  The blurb on the back and whatever else I read on this novel promise an intriguing mystery. 

So many books to read … when to read, what to read, how to read … all questions only …