The Sunday Haul (on 21-05-2023)

 It was pretty hot last Sunday at Abids where I went to browse among the second hand books laid out on the pavement. It was hot enough to need a cap and a bottle of water that I took along. Very often I get asked about some good books for children by their parents after they get to know that I like to read a lot. I always mention a few titles that I myself have read but I wish I knew about other new and better Indian titles as well. Till last Sunday I did not know there actually was a book about good children’s books in India. I spotted a copy of  ‘101 Children’s Books We Love’ ed Anita Roy & Samina Mishra the first thing after I had parked my two wheeler. I got it for fifty rupees.  

I was a biology student ending up as a post graduate in Agriculture so crops, plants, animals and trees are something I know a bit of but trees were something of a mystery, I can tell a few trees right away but I don’t know many things about them just as I don’t know much about just about everything in my life. Anyway, when I saw a nice copy of ‘The Secret Life of Trees’ by Colin Tudge I wanted to buy it and so bought it for a hundred rupees. 

 

I always pick up good travel titles whenever I see them. I found a nice copy of ‘Himalaya’ by Michael Palin at a seller who throws all his titles, good and worthless one together in a heap that he sells for a fixed price. I found this title in a heap selling for fifty rupees and picked it up. This is my first Michael Palin title and am eager to read it as soon as possible. 

The Sunday Haul (14-05-2023)

 After having returned from Bengaluru with a big haul of fifteen wonderful titles I was not in the mood to buy any more books at Abids on Sunday though I went there more out of habit than with the intention of buying books. However, I find it very hard not to buy good titles when I find them. So when I saw the copy of ‘The Oxford India Anthology of Twelve Modern Indian Poets’ edited by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra that I had seen earlier in the month I picked it up. The twelve modern Indian poets featured in this anthology are: Nissim Ezekiel, Jayanta Mahapatra, A.K. Ramanujan, Arun Kolatkar, Keki N. Daruwala, Dom Moraes, Dilip Chitre, Eunice de Souza, Adil Jussawala, Agha Shahid Ali, Vikram Seth, and Manohar Shetty. 

 

There aren’t many exciting moments in a bibliphile’s life than when coming across a nice sounding title by an author you’ve never heard of. So when I saw a copy of 'The Making of a Philosopher’ by Colin McGinn I instantly picked it up after reading the blurbs on the cover and also knowing instinctively knowing that it would be a good read. Good read it has turned out to be since I began reading the same evening I bought it at Abids for a hundred rupees. 

The Haul at Bengaluru on 7th & 8th May 2023

 

Sometime in March this year when my brother-in-law told me that his daughter was getting married in May and that the reception was in Bengaluru I got pretty excited. Bengaluru was where I was dying to go again after having been there in February 2020 just before the lockdown. I was counting the days when I would be catching the train to Bengaluru. Last Saturday we set out for Bengaluru and the first thing I did after breakfast was to set out with my son for Church Street. 

 

On the first day’s visit I decided to look in the three stores that Blossom had on Church Street. A friend in Bengaluru who I called told me about the third store that had been recently opened it seems. I had only a few hours to spend looking for books so I made the most of the time I had and managed to pick up eight titles. 

 

Half of the eight titles were travel titles and the first one was ‘The Arabs’ by Peter Mansfield that was about the Arabs and strangely enough I have another book with the same title by David Lamb. 

 

The second travel title was a nice copy ‘The Big Red Train Ride’ by Eric Newby that seemed to be about taking the train in Russia. I was glad I found this title.

 

The third travel title as a beautiful copy of ‘Best of Lonely Planet Travel Writing’ with some really wonderful travel essays by an assortment of well known travel writers.

My friend who lives in Bengaluru had told me that he had seen many Dervla Murphy titles in Blossom so it was the travel writing section that I checked out first because I was desperate to find ‘Full Tilt’ by Dervla Murphy. Instead I found ‘Wheels within Wheels’ by Dervla Murphy that I added to the. Haul. 

 

I picked up the copy ‘God’s Snake’ by Irina Spanidou, a writer I never heard after reading the blurb by Doris Lessing on the cover. I hope it is as good as Doril Lessing says it is. 

 

It is always a surprise to find a title by an author, an Indian at that, one had never heard. So when I saw a copy of ‘Seven Steps in the Sky’ by Kundanika Kapadia I was pleasantly shocked to find that it had won the Sahitya Akademi prize! in 1985. The original is in Gujarati and translated into English by Kunjbala and William Anthony.  I loved the cover and look forward to read it soon. 

 

A long time back I had read a review of ‘The Permanence of Grief’ by Nisha da Cunha and the reviewere had written that it makes for depressed reading which made me not to read the book though I hadn’t yet bought it or come across it anywhere. But the copy of ‘Old Cypress’ by Nisha da Cunha that I saw in Blossom didn’t look like it would make me sad so I bought it. 

 

Finally, I found the copy of ‘RSS- The Long and The Short of it’ by Devanuru Mahadeva that I had wanted to read to know what it was all about. It is a short book of just ninety pages translated into English from Kannada. 

 

We returned home with this haul and with a plan to come the next day for landing more titles. 

 

The next day, 8^th May, we were back on Church Street around ten in the morning. I decided to drop in at the other stores and so began with a visit to ‘Bookhive.’ The collection wasn’t much but just before leaving in a corner stacked behing other titles I found a copy of ‘The Blue Hammer’ by Ross MacDonald that I got for eighty rupees. 

 

Next it was turn of ‘Book Home’ in the same place where ‘Bookworm’ used to be if I am not wrong. Anyway I had a pleasant shock when I found the title I was looking for. I found a nice copy of ‘Full Tilt’ by Dervla Murphy in Book Home and what made it pleasanter was that I got it for just a hundred and ten rupees. 

 

Next I visited ‘Book Worm’ and also ‘Blossom’ and picked up five titles in these two stores but I cannot now remember which title I picked up in which store! 

 

I found a nice copy of a title by an author whose book I picked up recently. It was a copy of 

‘A Secret Country’ by John Pilger that was about Australia. Surprisingly the next book I came across was also about Australia- ‘The Ribbon and the Ragged Square- An Australian Journey’ by Linda Christmas

 

The other finds were a nice copy of ‘The Waiting Land’ by Dervla Murphy, ‘A Traveller’s Life’ by Eric Newby, and an interesting title Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass’ by Bruno Schulz about whom I had read somewhere very recently. 

 

We returned to Hyderabad with a bag full of wonderful titles that also filled my heart with a strange joy at having landed some really terrific books. 

The Sunday Haul (on 30-04-2023)

The only title that I found at Abids last Sunday was a copy of ‘Stallion of the Sun and Other Stories’ by U.R. Ananthamurthy whose beautiful yellow cover I spotted from far away. It was a Penguin title that I immediately bought for seventy rupees. I was filled with a quiet joy when I bought realizing that I had in my hands something not easily found.

 

The seven stories in ‘Stallion of the Sun’ were edited and translated from Kannada by Narayan Hegde who also wrote the introduction to the book. The seven stories in it are: Ghatashraddha, Clip Joint, Mount, The Sky and the Cat, Stallion of the Sun, Akkayya, and Jaratkaru. The Sky and the Cat is a wonderful story that I already read in ‘Modern Indian Short Stories’ edited by Stephen Alter and Wimal Dissanayake. 

The Sunday Haul (on 23-04-2023)

 After being away from Hyderabad for two weeks and missing my visits to Abids on two consecutive Sundays I was eager to go to Abids last Sunday. Though it was the day after Ramzan there were many sellers out there on the pavements which was a pleasing sight.  

The first book I found was a nice copy of ‘Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique of Spiritual Fascism’ by Kancha Ilaiah, a Dalit writer who manages to ruffle the feathers of many conservative Hindus by his controversial opinions. I picked it up as I wanted to read more of his essays. I got this book for fifty rupees.

 

Ever since I read Robert D. Kaplan’s ‘Balkan Ghosts’ I wanted to read more about the Balkans and I was thrilled to find a copy of ‘Through the Embers of Chaos: Balkan Journeys’ by Dervla Murphy with a seller near the Bata store. I had seen this title somewhere online and had wondered what it could be all about. I was pretty excited to spot this title at Abids and more thrilled that I could get it for just fifty rupees. This was the best find of the year I guess. 

The Sunday Haul at Abids (on 02-04-2023)

  The previous Sunday’s haul of two books was at Coimbatore and though I was glad I was able to look for books on a Sunday I missed browsing at the Sunday street book market at Abids. Last Sunday, back in Hyderabad, I went to Abids eagerly hoping to find some good titles and find I did. 

 

There’s a lot of conflict in the world: between countries, between families, and also between people which is what leads to disagreements, war, and also separations. I want to understand more about how to avoid conflict and get along with those you don’t like. I’ve been reading many articles but haven’t found anything that describes the process in detail. So when I saw a copy of ‘The Anatomy of Peace’ by The Arbinger Foundation I thought it looked like just the thing I have to read. I got it for a hundred rupees.

 

At another seller who doesn’t have any idea of the titles he selling I saw a copy of ‘The Armchair Esquire’ that has more than a dozen articles and stories by writers like JD Salinger, that I decided to buy. I had only taken a look at the copy of ‘The Art of Happiness’ by John Cowper Powys that the same seller had and put it back. The seller urged me to take the two titles and give him whatever I thought fit. Reluctantly I took them and paid a hundred rupees for the two books. 

Further down the pavement I saw a copy of ‘Going Down River Road’ by Meja Mwangi, an African title that I immediately decided I’d buy after I saw on the cover the name of another title by the same author that I had bought earlier and had also read. 

 

In February 2020 at Blossoms at Bengaluru I found a copy of ‘The Bang Bang Birds’ by Adam Diment a few months after I had read somewhere that he was a terrific writer. I really enjoyed the humor in that spy thriller and was very glad to have found two more titles by Adam Diment on a sale on WhatsApp by another seller. These two titles that I read one after the other were also very good and made me want to read all the books Adam Diment wrote. Last Sunday at Abids when I saw a copy of ‘Think Inc’ by Adam Diment lying in a heap I almost couldn’t believe it. I picked it up and noticed that it was indeed by Adam Diment and also it was in a good condition. I got it for fifty rupees. 

 

The last title that I found was a nice copy of ‘Fourteen Years with Boss’ by Ashokamithran that I already have but I did not want to leave it behind so picked it up for a hundred rupees. 

The Sunday Haul at Coimbatore (on 26.03.2023)

Since the past couple of years I’m being sent to Ooty to coordinate trekking of Officer Trainees undergoing Foundation Course at our Institute. I had been to Ooty only last November-December and last week again I had to go to Ooty in preparation of the trek. Last Sunday I was in Coimbatore for a couple of hours on the way back to Hyderabad. Since I had a few hours before the flight in the evening I decided to check out the second-hand bookstores that the cab driver told me about when I asked him. 

 

In Eswaran Kovil street in the Townhall area near the Coimbatore Railway station I saw about half a dozen small stalls each filled with hundreds of books mainly text books but a few had old novels also. I was pretty excited seeing these stalls as I usually spend my Sunday mornings looking for books at the Abids second hand book bazaar. I found a copy of ‘Breakfast on Pluto’ by Patrick McCabe for fifty rupees at one stall. 

Another title I picked up was a copy of ‘Star of the Sea’ by Joseph O’Connor that I got for a hundred and twenty rupees. It was a bit too high a price but I couldn’t resist it. Another reason was that I wanted something to read while waiting at the airport for the flight that was a couple of hours away. 

Now I regret not buying the Alice Munro collection I saw at another stall just because the seller asked a very high price and couldn’t reduce the price. 

 

But I am terribly pleased that I did not miss the Sunday Haul though it wasn’t at Abids in Hyderabad. 

The Sunday Haul (on 12-03-2023)

 However it is the rest of the week, on Sunday I am at my luckiest best. I found four wonderful titles that left me feeling on top of the world. The first title I found was a copy of ‘Bike Ride’ by Anne Mustoe that was obviously a travel title, an account of a trip by a middle-aged woman on a bike to several countries including India. Naturally, I was compelled to buy it since I cannot resist any travel title. 

The next title that I found also turned out to be a travel title but a different kind of travel title, the type I like very much. I spotted a beautiful copy of ‘Out of Poverty’ by John Stackhouse, a Penguin title that I picked up without hesitating a moment. It is about the lives of the poor in different countries and how they go about their lives. The copy I found seemed to have an interesting journey. The original price according to the sticker is Rs.395, and the price on another sticker of Blossom Book House of Bengaluru is Rs.250. I got it for Rs.100!

I like to find and read all the titles by William Trevor, a writer I am in awe of because of the stories he narrates in a language that is unmatched. I have ‘Love in Summer’ but last Sunday I spotted a copy of ‘Death in Summer’ by William Trevor that I almost missed. I got this title also for a hundred rupees. 

Only a few days back when I saw a Tweet about Thomas Bernhard’s titles and how good a writer he was I wondered when I would find his books, and certainly didn’t expect it to find one in Hyderabad at least not a second hand copy. But that’s exactly what happened last Sunday making me feel that I was one lucky bibliophile. On the way back from Abids I usually stop at the three sellers at Chikkadpally and last Sunday I almost did not stop because I had bought three titles at Abids, also I was getting late for lunch as my family would be waiting for me. But I thought I’d stop for a moment and take a quick look at one of the sellers. This was one lucky decision since I spotted a copy of ‘Gargoyles’ by Thomas Bernhard, my heart almost stopping when I saw the name ‘Thomas Bernhard’ on the cover. It was an unbelievable find and to top it the copy was a brand new one that I got for just a hundred rupees. I couldn’t wait to get home to take a good look at it. 

The Sunday Haul (on 05-03-2023)

On Sundays my routine remains the same. I visit Abids after breakfast at home to look for books laid out on the pavements every Sunday. Like all Sundays it was the same this time too and as usual I came home with a handful of books. I found three nice titles last Sunday at Abids and these are the ones. 

 

At a seller who stocks used books that look almost new and that too some latest titles I found two wonderful titles. The first was a copy of ‘Modern African Stories’ edited by Charles R. Larson that was in mint condition. Somehow, I feel that I already have a copy of this title but I bought it because of its excellent condition. 

 

The other title I found with the same seller was a copy of ‘A Curtain of Green’ by Eudora Welty, one of the many Penguin titles that he had displayed on his makeshift bookshelves. It is a collection of her short stories. I got this title too for a hundred rupees. 

 

The third and last title I found in a heap of books selling for just twenty rupees. I picked up a copy of ‘Shatter’ by John Farris and decided to buy it based on Stephen King’s blurb on the cover that said ‘America’s premier novelist of terror’ that continued on the back cover too. I plan to start reading it tonight itself. 

The Sunday Haul (on 26-02-2023)

The summer season is well on its way in Hyderabad though February is not yet done with. It was uncomfortably warm last Sunday in Hyderabad when I set out for Abids. I came home with five titles when I had actually planned not to buy more than one title. But that’s Abids for you; it throws titles that I simply cannot leave behind without buying them.  

 Since a long time I’ve been planning to find out more about philosophy especially Indian philosophical thought but have been baulking thinking I wouldn’t be able to understand such a dense subject as it is beyond my limited brains. But last Sunday after I saw a hardcover copy of ‘The Problematic and Conceptual Structure of Classical Indian Thought about Man, Society, and Polity’ by Daya Krishna, I thought let me make a beginning with this title and bought it. I paid a hundred rupees for this title that seems to be some kind of an academic book. 

The second find at Abids last Sunday was a copy of ‘Keep it Real’ by Lee Gutkind, a book on writing creative non-fiction. It was a slim book and Lee Gutkind seemed kind of familiar name that I had come across in writing magazines, I think. Slim though the book was it didn’t come cheap at two hundred rupees. 

 When I spotted the copy of ‘The Madras Mag Anthology of Contemporary Writing’ edited by Krupa Ge that had an attractive cover I decided to buy it whatever the cost. I got it for a hundred rupees and after I got home and opened it, I found not only a beautiful bookmark but a few of the authors who had contributed to the anthology had also signed on one of the inside pages. I could make out the signatures of Sharanya Manivannan and also MR Sharan. 

I love everything published by the venerable Sahitya Akademi. They publish translations of stories and novels of little-known writers in different parts of India and the books are very modestly priced. Sometime back I had found copies of ‘Contemporary Indian Short Stories-Series I, II & III’ by Sahitya Akademi. Last Sunday I found a beautiful copy of ‘Contemporary Indian Short Stories-Series I’ by Sahitya Akademi that I had forgotten I already have but bought it anyway. There are fifteen stories in this series, by Ismat Chugtai, Bhabani Bhattacharya, Kalindi Charan Panigrahi, Dhumketu, Masti Venkatesa Iyengar and others. 

 I had been looking for a decent copy of Fowler’s ‘Modern English Usage’ that I can afford since a long time and at last I found a nice copy but the price was a ridiculous thirty rupees. I couldn’t believe it since such books especially dictionaries and the like are not available for less than a hundred rupees at Abids.