Books Galore

When Uma came to visit us on Tuesday, Marie and I had eagerly pried her with information regarding fashion boutiques we would have to look up in Trivandrum and if there was any decent bookstore where we could have our fix of reading.

So, this afternoon, Marie and I decided it was time to have our intellectual fill.

As we walk up a narrow and quiet street, seeing a promising banner in the distance saying "Modern Book Center", a young man on a bicycle passes us and stops to say "bonjour". He is one of the young men who belong to the "Amis de l'Alliance", who sang a song in French on Tuesday. We start having a very pleasant conversation and he accompanies us to the bookstore as he tells us the owner is a friend of his.

What we discover lives up beyond our expectations ; a true treasure cave filled up to the ceiling with books of medicine, accounting, dictionaries, international magazines and, of course, fiction.

Our young friends leaves us with the promise of getting back in touch and off Marie and I go into a quest for books. After quite some time, I happily stock under my arm a series of books that should guarantee many fulfilling nights. I discover that not only Marie had already bought hers but that she got a whole classical collection of Indian writers and poetry. How perfect as I, on the contrary, only aimed for contemporary Indian writers!!!!

It is only after Marie has been tempted once again by a couple of books and has bought them that we leave the bookstore, treasures at hand.

We come back home, content with our prizes, taking them out of our bags, caressing their covers gently and excitedly discussing our choices. How reassuring, how soothing it is to have the company of books.

Somehow, Marie and I respectfully eclipse ourselves from each others presence, somehow wanting to be alone with our new belongings. Before I fall alseep, I take hold of one of the books that I bought, a kerala cookbook, and start - like the true daughter of my father - checking recipes that our maid can do for us.

Yes, we will definitely go back to that bookstore.