The Sunday Haul (on 08-02-2026)

 I hadn't been to Abids since the past two Sundays. On January 25th I was at the Hyderabad Literature Festival so couldn't go to Abids to look at the books on the pavements. On 1st of February which was a Sunday I was in Kolkata. Though I bought many books on the Sunday at Kolkata I somehow missed being at Abids. So last Sunday it was with a lot of excitement that I set out for Abids eager to meet my bibliophile friends and also pick up not more than one book as I had returned from a trip to Kolkata and Guwahati with sixteen books. 

The first find was a copy of 'my temporary son' by Timeri N. Murari that was his account of accommodating an orphan for less than a year before handing him over to his adoptive parents. It sounded very interesting and though I haven't read any of Timeri N. Murari's books I decided to read this title. I got it for fifty rupees.

Later I met two friend sand chatted with them about books for a while in Star of India. Afterwards I set out to look at the fare of the other sellers. I found a copy of 'An Orderly Man' by Dirk Bogarde, volume three of his autobiography. I had found a copy of this a long time ago and had found it a beautifully written autobiography. Though I also found the other two volumes of his autobiography I did not read them. I do not know where I have kept the earlier copy so decided to buy this as it was in a heap of books selling for fifty rupees only.

In the same heap my eyes fell on another intriguing title- 'Nostalgia Isn't What It Used to Be' by Simone Signoret. I was attracted to the title and also the photo of the author on the cover staring pensively. I read that Signoret was an actress and it was her memoir of her acting career when she met several famous actors and actresses. There was high praise for the book on the back of the cover and so this, and the fact that it was a Penguin title pushed me into buying it. Coincidentally the Dirk Bogarde title is also a Penguin title. 

Then on the way home I got down at Chikkadpally to look at what the three sellers had spread out on the pavement. I saw a beautiful, almost new copy of 'Baburnama: Journal of Emperor Babur' with a stunning cover that I instantly decided to buy at any price. It was translated by Annette Susannah Beveridge from the Chagtai Turkish, and abridged, edited and introduced by Dilip Hiro. Coincidentally again this was also a Penguin title. However the seller asked for only a hundred and fifty rupees for it. All four titles I found last Sunday are Penguin titles!