Last Sunday’s visit to Abids did not yield even a single title in the haul. I came home empty handed after a long time. I wasn’t disappointed though because I met my friends and fellow book lovers. We had sat in another café we’ve begun to haunt because the café which was our regular meeting place was razed to the ground a couple of months ago. We talked about books, writers, movies, and the trending topic- the potholes on the roads of Hyderabad. The time spent in the company of friends made it possible to forget that I hadn’t picked up anything at Abids.
Later on the way back home, at Chikkadpally, I had seen a good copy of ‘The Sly Company of People Who Care’ by Rahul Bhattacharya. I decided I would buy this title after a couple of Sundays after wearing down the seller who was asking for a high price for it.
However, on Monday I happened to drop in at the MR Bookstore branch beside the flyover near Punjagutta. I saw a good copy of ‘My Own Country’ by Abraham Varghese. Sometime back I had read his ‘The Tennis Partner’ and right away decided to read his other books. Though I picked up ‘My Own Country’ and held it in my hand I came across another wonderful title that I instantly decided to buy instead of Abraham Varghese’s book. I found ‘Yesterday Morning’ by Diana Athill. Finding a good copy of ‘Stet’ by this celebrated editor on the pavements of Abids was one of the few thrilling moments of my life half spent dredging for books. This joy was doubled when I found a second copy shortly afterwards. Anyway, I bought ‘Yesterday Morning’ by Diana Athill, a remarkable editor, and also a person who led a very interesting life.
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