Tags:
Journalism of Courage
What drags me to Daryaganj in Old Delhi on most Sundays is the lure of the weekly book bazaar. Stretching over almost 1.5 km, the pavements in front of the closed shops are invaded by booksellers who descend with all sorts of books and magazines, mostly second-hand.
There is nothing to match the smell of books. It is inimitable and defies description. But one with a sensitive nose may liken it to what we breathe when the monsoon showers hit the parched earth, so mellow and ethereal.
Kenilworth, Henry James8217;s The Portrait of a Lady and a Tin Tin comic thrown in free 8212; all in excellent condition.
You find all types of books here. A lover of fiction may find books ranging from Samuel Richardson8217;s Clarissa, the longest English novel, to Virginia Woolf8217;s The Waves, a short one. If you are a whodunnit-addict, there should be no difficulty in locating books by Arthur Conan Doyle to Agatha Christie. There is no dearth of medical and engineering books as well as comics, directories, atlases and cookery books.
The place has the charm and excitement of a flea market. If bargaining is your hobby, let this be your playground. Go on haggling till you win, and you will. Carry a bag to stuff with the books you buy. Do go armed with a thermos filled with cold water or coffee as walking in the sun may make you thirsty. The books you finally buy may be somewhat soiled, spine-damaged, loose-paged or attacked by silverfish. But all that is of no consequence since what is in the books is more important than their condition.
