Another Delhi Haul

More than the excitement of flying twice in less than a month (at government expense!) to Delhi was the excitement that I’d get to buy two books I had recently come across. One was a book that I had rather unwisely chosen not to buy just because the cover was torn. Another was a book by a new writer I read about on the same day I was told to go to Delhi once again sometime last week.

There are times when something that you wish for becomes a reality even before you’ve completed dreaming about it. Sometime last week I came across Ankush Saikia’s ‘Jet City Woman’ in a blog of the same name while searching for literary agents. When I read on the blog that he lived in ‘A’ Block, CR Park I was a bit excited. CR Park ‘A’ Block was where I normally stay with my brother whenever I visit Delhi. Reading that information I wondered when I would next visit Delhi. I’d been to Delhi not more than a fortnight earlier so another trip seemed unlikely. I could hardly believe it when I was told to pack up and be ready to fly to Delhi the next day. As soon as my visit was finalized I began to make my own plans to meet Ankush Saikia if possible. I wanted to ask him how he managed to get published by Rupa & Co and other writerly questione after getting him to sign on a copy of his book. On the face of it the plan appeared pretty doable until I began to look for a copy of Jet City Woman.

At the Odyssey store in the airport at Hyderabad I couldn’t find the book. I thought I’d definitely find it at one of the bookstores in Khan Market where I had to go on work. Bahrison’s didn’t have it and Faqeerchand too did not stock it though they offered to get me a copy the next day. I decided to try out the shops in Janpath but I met with no success. There was some hope when one of the shopkeepers told me he would call his distributor and get a copy while I waited. It turned out the distributor too did not have a copy. It was getting late into the evening and somehow I decided to check out Oxford Bookstore two streets away. I had a hunch I’d get a copy of JCW there. I felt relieved when I spotted it on the racks and picked it up. It was then I called up the author expecting him to be in Delhi and agreeing to meet me. When he told me he was away in Assam I was disappointed. The bright side was that at least I could read the book before meeting the writer. Now I have to wait until it is time for me to make another trip to Delhi.

On my previous trip to Delhi I had seen a copy of Edward Albee’s ‘Stretching My Mind’ at a bookstore called ‘Nanda Book Service’ in Nehru Place. I did not buy it because the cover was torn and later while returning to Hyderabad I felt a bit stupid about my decision. I realized what’s inside is far more important than the cover and for a day I felt like a total idiot. But I got a second chance to look for it again. However it appeared unlikely that I'd find the book because more than a fortnight had passed since I last saw it. I couldn’t believe it when I found the book on the top of one of the piles of book in the store. It looked like someone had checked it out and had made the rather unwise decision not to buy it. Another smaller and pleasant surprise was that the price was only fifty rupees.

‘Stretching My Mind’ was another additon to my collection of books on writing. Now to finish reading ‘Jet City Woman’ and wait for the call to Delhi. I have a feeling that in another two weeks I'll be winging towards Delhi