The Ooty Haul

Only a few people are as lucky as I am. I was sent to Ooty on work where I had to stay for almost two weeks. It was a welcome break though there was the constant fear of catching the virus. The weather was pleasant and where I stayed, the Queen’s Palace in Tamizhagam, was luxury the work itself was a bit stressful. I was there to oversee trekking programme of 40 All India Service officers who were undergoing a Foundation Course in our Institute. Early in the morning I would go out to a camp around Ooty, and again in the evening to check on how they were doing. I visited quite a few picturesque places like Sholur, Theppakadu, Pandiar, Naduvottam, and Porthimund. Since I knew in December last itself that I would be making this trip I had bought an iPhone as a birthday gift to self. I got to click some nice photographs.

Wherever I go I look out for bookstores. On my last visit with family in 2017 I couldn’t find the time to shop for books. But this time I was lucky to spot a bookstore while I was driving around in Ooty. I spotted ‘Church Hill Book Shop’ near Charing Cross and went in. It was a small store, with just a couple of shelves containing a few hundred books. I thought I would not find anything but I couldn’t believe it when I found two wonderful titles on my first visit to the book shop.

The first find was a nice copy of ‘Cheating at Canasta’ by William Trevor. I never imagined I would find a William Trevor title in such a small store. It is a collection of short stories and I got the book for a hundred and eighty rupees. I was pleased that I had found a bit of treasure. 

Then I spotted a beautiful copy of ‘The River at the Centre of the World’ by Simon Winchester. This was a travelogue about China, another one in my collection of books on China. It had a beautiful cover and I was terribly glad that I had found another wonderful title. This book too I got for a hundred and eighty rupees. Finding these two titles took away the sense of loneliness and stress I had been feeling after being away from home for more than a week.  I resolved to visit the store again whenever I had the time. 

Luckily a couple of days later I got the time to drop in at the book shop once again. On this second visit I found another wonderful title. I spotted a copy of ‘Step by Step’ by Simon Reeve. I wouldn’t have known who Simon Reeve was if I hadn’t watched his programme on BBC one day by accident. I watched his episodes on Greece, Russia, and Turkey I guess before I was hooked to his show. It was sheer luck that I came across ‘Step by Step’ which, as the cover says, is a sort of memoir. This too I got for a hundred and eighty rupees.