Great Bong has put up two very touching posts [1] [2]. Quoting from [1] (GreatBong .. sorry for not asking for reprod permissions in advance :P )
"But therein lay the beauty of it. The beauty of conviction. The beauty of dreams. The fact that this man believes that one day he will make it as a poet . And what's inspiring is that despite the odds he faces every day, he still manages to radiate enthusiasm for his craft---a luminant joi de vivre that comes from believing in what he does.
That sales pitch of "a poem for 10 paisa" accompanied with the boisterous recitation---he must be doing this routine about hundreds of times every day, mostly to people who are irritated by his presence (I saw another group on the grass who basically told him to f*** off) and just want this nuisance to leave them alone. Looking at him going about his work, I realized that not once during his numerous sales pitches does his enthusiasm or self-belief waver, nor does he ever sell his poverty and ask for sympathy---not when insulted, not when rebuffed and not when sleeping on the footpath on a cold Calcutta night."
The post about Calcutta Book fare made me remember the Book fare we used to have in Bhopal at Kalibadis during Navratri / Puja days. One Kalibadi was in the BHEL township in Piplani C Sector (walking distance from my 1st 'home') and the other in Tin Shed area near New Market / Mata Mandir. Both places were great to visit during the Puja days and apart from all other attractions - the book fairs were great attractions for me. At these Book fares you could find those rare books about topics from Karl Marx to Ramakrishna Mission.
However, these books became attractions much later - my childhood was spent reading books that featured in Russian Book Fare which sold English and Hindi translations of Russian Books - some of the best educational books that have shaped my intellect and thinking came from these fares. Another set of books that satisfied my curious and (irritatibly) inquisitive mind were 'Children's Knowledge Bank' (Vol I-VII). I still have all those stacked up somewhere in my shelves.
But in today's world of internet, more importantly - Television and Cartoons - would the children still find the same amount of interest in 'static', 'un-animated', 'non-glossy' books? More importantly would their intellectual needs remain the same as were of our generation?
On sidelines - will Books fares retain their identity? Will someone write posts on 'Book Fares' after 50 years?
"But therein lay the beauty of it. The beauty of conviction. The beauty of dreams. The fact that this man believes that one day he will make it as a poet . And what's inspiring is that despite the odds he faces every day, he still manages to radiate enthusiasm for his craft---a luminant joi de vivre that comes from believing in what he does.
That sales pitch of "a poem for 10 paisa" accompanied with the boisterous recitation---he must be doing this routine about hundreds of times every day, mostly to people who are irritated by his presence (I saw another group on the grass who basically told him to f*** off) and just want this nuisance to leave them alone. Looking at him going about his work, I realized that not once during his numerous sales pitches does his enthusiasm or self-belief waver, nor does he ever sell his poverty and ask for sympathy---not when insulted, not when rebuffed and not when sleeping on the footpath on a cold Calcutta night."
The post about Calcutta Book fare made me remember the Book fare we used to have in Bhopal at Kalibadis during Navratri / Puja days. One Kalibadi was in the BHEL township in Piplani C Sector (walking distance from my 1st 'home') and the other in Tin Shed area near New Market / Mata Mandir. Both places were great to visit during the Puja days and apart from all other attractions - the book fairs were great attractions for me. At these Book fares you could find those rare books about topics from Karl Marx to Ramakrishna Mission.
However, these books became attractions much later - my childhood was spent reading books that featured in Russian Book Fare which sold English and Hindi translations of Russian Books - some of the best educational books that have shaped my intellect and thinking came from these fares. Another set of books that satisfied my curious and (irritatibly) inquisitive mind were 'Children's Knowledge Bank' (Vol I-VII). I still have all those stacked up somewhere in my shelves.
But in today's world of internet, more importantly - Television and Cartoons - would the children still find the same amount of interest in 'static', 'un-animated', 'non-glossy' books? More importantly would their intellectual needs remain the same as were of our generation?
On sidelines - will Books fares retain their identity? Will someone write posts on 'Book Fares' after 50 years?
in 50 years... books will move into museums... as rare collections... you won't have books (in print form)... there will be a lot of e-books...
ReplyDeletemay be then we'll tell our kids/grandkids abt the book fares and books ;)
@chaos..
ReplyDeleteNah..
Books are there forever..
And they sell more than before..
@Nikhil..
Bhai , i was just wondering , why didnt you keep your blog's name Raymond (THe Complete Man.)
PJ
Sorry..
But cudnt help it..:-P