THE PARADISE WILL BE A KIND OF LIBRARY
“I have always imagined, that Paradise will be a kind of library.” Jorge Luis Borges O n last Sunday, my friend (once, my dear student) Shankar and his wife Swetha had invited some of us to their house located in a plush society. They have two beautiful, talented daughters – Anvesha, 13 and Avyakta, 9. I had carried two books – a novel for Anvesha, another book of Japanese Folktales for little Avyakta. While the novel was a new one, the book of Japanese Folktales was an old one which I had at home for quite some time. Did I hesitate before gifting this book to the little girl? Not at all... It’s what the book contained inside, and not how new or how nicely it’s packaged – yes, I firmly believed in this. The little girl, I am sure, will appreciate the amazing folktales from the land of Japan... and, once she is done with it, I am sure, she will pass on the book to another deserving kid... Books are meant to be circulated... While we were at...