The Sunday Haul (on 02-11-2025)

It was a beautiful morning last Sunday in Hyderabad with a clear sky and bright sunlight. En route to Abids I stopped at Chikkadpally to look at the books that a couple of sellers at Chikkadpally had laid out. I saw a copy of ‘Tales of Old and New Madras’ by S. Muthaiah. I had read somewhere that S. Muthaiah was a much respected historian of Madras/Chennai, and I had also read a few essays by him on Madras somewhere. I picked it up for hundred rupees. 

The second title I found was a copy of ‘The Stone of Heaven’ by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott Clark with an interesting cover that caught my eye. It was a travel book and about jade in China. I got this title too for a hundred rupees. I want to begin reading this book soon. 

Just before I left Chikkadpally I spotted a nice copy of ‘Unended Quest: An Intellectual Autobiography’ by Karl Popper. I had read about Karl Popper earlier, and since it was an autobiography, an interesting genre,  I decided to buy it. I got this book too for hundred rupees. 

The next find was with another seller and it was a copy of a title I already have. I picked up the copy of ‘On Literature’ by Umberto Eco that I did not want to leave behind so in it went into my haul of Sunday.

Then at Abids I met two people who follow me on Twitter/X and wanted to meet me. We talked for a long time in Star of India café about books and later went around looking at the books laid out on the pavement. Near the GPO with one of the sellers I spotted a book with an irresistible cover. It was a copy of ‘Plutarch’s Lives- Vol I The Dryden Translation’ that I thought the seller would ask me for four hundred rupees or more. I was a bit shocked when he gave it to me for a hundred and fifty rupees. It appeared similar to Herodotus’s ‘Histories’ that I have but haven’t yet read. I have already begun reading ‘Plutarch’s Lives’ and found it interesting enough to continue reading it until the end. 

Today read in the news that the long-awaited event, the Hyderabad Book Fair will be held from 19-29 December, a little over a month away. But my countdown has already started.