A Library Addict

Right from my school days, I had a special fascination for libraries, and their books, magazines and periodicals.

The reason was obviouy, the options were wide open. Cost was another factor, and the third and most important factor was the compulsion to read within the given time limit, as books had to be returned to the librarians after a week or two.

This passion continued even when I went to college, university and the different places where I was posted during my employment. Queen’s College in Varanasi had a limited number of books, but when I joined Banaras Hindu University (BHU), I got everything I wanted.

I resolved not to buy a single book for my BSc (Hons) course. Geology books were expensive, as most of them were written by foreign authors. So instead of restricting myself to select books, I decided to borrow books from libraries.

While my Geology department also had a library that I used, the main attraction was the Central Library of BHU which had lakhs of books including rare ones, related to every subject on earth.

The library used to issue four books at a time for two weeks. I would skim through those books and make notes, because I wanted to read some other books after returning them. My library cards used to be my valuable credit and debit cards back then.

But there was another attraction. The smell of books! Old books had a particular smell, while new books had a completely different smell. There was nothing more enjoyable than digging through that library, because we didn’t have the luxury of Google Baba.

During my free time, I used to go to the reading section to read journals, magazines etc. There were other bookworms like me, but most of them were research scholars pursuing M.Phil or PhD. However, I did find some dear friends there.

Nearby there was a grand temple of Lord Shiva. I used to go there not only to pray, but also to have some peace of mind for a while. The nearby restaurant was also helpful in keeping the spirit alive. My stay at BHU was truly the life changing time.

I didn’t get the same opportunity to study anywhere else, but I tried my level best to find some libraries in adjoining areas. In Delhi, I was using the Central Secretariat library, apart from Ramakrishna Mission Library and one NDMC library located in my area.

In Bhopal, I couldn’t find any, but a few paid libraries were there, mostly for magazines and periodicals. In Mumbai, Pune and other places, I had my bank’s library apart from some paid libraries nearby.

When I was asked to set up a new department of Risk Management in my bank, I did not have any book available in the library for reference. All the books on this subject were new and written by foreign authors.

That was the time when I went on buying spree, spending thousands of rupees to acquire knowledge and books for the bank’s library. Books always cost less than what we get from them. I am glad that I could enrich it to some extent.

Someone had said that paradise could also be a kind of a library. It’s my humble attempt to create a little piece of that paradise by having my own library at home. There are some books that I like to read again and again to feel the touch of the divine.

–Kaushal Kishore

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