Life is like that

Life is like that 
As the waster paper merchant stuffed over 200 hundred books into his bags, I looked away with a tinge of sadness and anger, combined with frustration.

I wanted to find a proper place for books collected over 50 years, brought with a smile on my face and heaviness on my wallet, from airports all over the world and bookstores now closing down in Mumbai and elsewhere, gifted to me by friends and fans.

I moved these books around with me to 10 different locations. They are now heading towards shops selling Bhel or Vada-pau. I tried to avoid this; tried to give away to local libraries, to students, to friends and associates, but to no avail.

No one wants hard copies of books they can download on their Kindle or Ipad or still better on their handsets. Their taste too is different. Whoever reads James Headly Chase now? Or Yes Prime Minister?

And truth be told, I have also moved to Kindle, no longer touch a book, not entered a bookshop, or bought a book in two years. At home, I cannot manage books in a city like Mumbai, unable to even space for them. A Kindle by my bedside is all the space I have.

And although I felt sad about bidding farewell to my books, deep down I realize that this is just one more change in the sea of changes swirling around me. Who am I to stop this?
The waste paper merchant smiles at me handed me down 500 Rs, and lifted the package out of our home, sweeping away some of my emotions alongside. I am looking at 500 Rs and think of 2 double Espresso I will have with this.

Life is like that, I tell myself.









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