I always encourage people to read. It's a very good habit. But people sometimes complain that they don't have the books they want to read or they can't get hold of them. These are very normal circumstances because books aren't as cheap as you would like them to be(for that matter nothing is!). So I live by the rule buy second hand, borrow or wait for someone to gift it to you. Under no circumstances are you supposed to steal them, as the saying originally goes(for the uninitiated it goes like this - buy, borrow or steal). Or you can just become a member of a library somewhere. My favourite option is borrowing. No hassles(except for returning the book) and totally economical. But when you borrow a book you've got to treat it like it was the last book on earth and nothing should happen to it, otherwise you lose favour with the borrowee and you can't borrow any more. Also, you should always ask the borrowee before lending it to someone else. For more book-borrowing etiquettes, check the internet.
Getting back to the topic I had planned to talk about before I started writing this post, The 18th World Book Fair that was held in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 2-10 Feb. I have been to the fair twice before(not sure about the second time but I think I did) and it was kinda fun. The last time I'd went, I was in school and was more interested in buying cheap computer games than books. Well it was different this time because I don't play computer games anymore(not because I've grown up or anything, my PC is just too old and none of the good games work on it, sob sob) and wasn't going with that sort of company either. So me, Garima and Varuni decided to set off one fine afternoon on this much awaited expedition. From deep inside Noida to Pragati Maidan is a long journey and travelling by bus is a pain. I'm kinda used to it but those girls aren't. So, Nishtha dropped us off on her way home. There weren't a lot of people near the entrance or in the queue for tickets. Disappointing to say the least. The Auto Expo had people making mile long queues to just look at the cars(I was one of them too, but I came to the book fair too, unlike them). Oh well, atleast we won't have to muscle our way through the crowd.
I was expecting empty halls with salesman squatting at flies, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a sizeable crowd all over the place. I took over the role of the guide and told the girls to follow me. We went from hall to hall looking for books that we wanted to buy and for books that were on sale with generous discounts. For a while we could find none. Then we stumbled upon the Random House stall and it was great except for the discount bit. The collection was brilliant and all three of us went "I wished this was my personal library" or "If I die and goto heaven, this is what it would look like, only much bigger". There were some really great comics too. But the prices were just out of the scope of my pocket money. None of us bought anything thinking we might find this stuff at cheaper prices somewhere else. I was starting to get tired and Varuni started sagging a little too, but not Garima. She was possessed by this energy, this wild crazy force that drove her to each and every shelf in each and every stall in each and every hall worth a look. I have never seen her walk that fast or, for that matter, that much for a such a long continuous period of time ever before. She had lost it or found heaven on Earth. Me and Varuni just lay back strolling/dragging ourselves along as we watched her zig-zag through the aisles. It was pretty funny.
After a while, her stomach's growling ended her search and we got a chance to sit down and eat. the food was OK but we stuffed ourselves anyways. Then we walked around leisurely looking for the Penguin India stall. We passed by the hall given to the Russians who were the guest of honour. Everything was in Russian and not many hot Russian chics either, so I saw no reason to waste more time there. We found the Penguin thing in a while and Garima was again possessed while me and Varuni were literally dragging our feet. We found a bean bag somewhere and took turns to sit in it. You can't imagine how relaxing that 1 minute break was.
It turned out that there were no places that offered heavy discounts. So Garima and Varuni bought a book each anyways. But Garima thought it an insult to come to a sacred place such as this and buy only one measly book, sheer blasphemy! She picked up another two I think. I didn't get anything because I'd spent it all on food. Doesn't matter, I know where to borrow them from.
Getting home was a big problem too. We took an auto till my place because the Delhi autos don't venture into Noida without permits or very hefty charges. Then I dropped them to the nearest bus stop, from where Garima's dad picked them up. A tiring day comes to an end. And another one's just ending. Yawwwn. I don't like the way this post turned out. It's so......tired. Good night zzzzzzzzzzzz....
Getting back to the topic I had planned to talk about before I started writing this post, The 18th World Book Fair that was held in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 2-10 Feb. I have been to the fair twice before(not sure about the second time but I think I did) and it was kinda fun. The last time I'd went, I was in school and was more interested in buying cheap computer games than books. Well it was different this time because I don't play computer games anymore(not because I've grown up or anything, my PC is just too old and none of the good games work on it, sob sob) and wasn't going with that sort of company either. So me, Garima and Varuni decided to set off one fine afternoon on this much awaited expedition. From deep inside Noida to Pragati Maidan is a long journey and travelling by bus is a pain. I'm kinda used to it but those girls aren't. So, Nishtha dropped us off on her way home. There weren't a lot of people near the entrance or in the queue for tickets. Disappointing to say the least. The Auto Expo had people making mile long queues to just look at the cars(I was one of them too, but I came to the book fair too, unlike them). Oh well, atleast we won't have to muscle our way through the crowd.
I was expecting empty halls with salesman squatting at flies, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a sizeable crowd all over the place. I took over the role of the guide and told the girls to follow me. We went from hall to hall looking for books that we wanted to buy and for books that were on sale with generous discounts. For a while we could find none. Then we stumbled upon the Random House stall and it was great except for the discount bit. The collection was brilliant and all three of us went "I wished this was my personal library" or "If I die and goto heaven, this is what it would look like, only much bigger". There were some really great comics too. But the prices were just out of the scope of my pocket money. None of us bought anything thinking we might find this stuff at cheaper prices somewhere else. I was starting to get tired and Varuni started sagging a little too, but not Garima. She was possessed by this energy, this wild crazy force that drove her to each and every shelf in each and every stall in each and every hall worth a look. I have never seen her walk that fast or, for that matter, that much for a such a long continuous period of time ever before. She had lost it or found heaven on Earth. Me and Varuni just lay back strolling/dragging ourselves along as we watched her zig-zag through the aisles. It was pretty funny.
After a while, her stomach's growling ended her search and we got a chance to sit down and eat. the food was OK but we stuffed ourselves anyways. Then we walked around leisurely looking for the Penguin India stall. We passed by the hall given to the Russians who were the guest of honour. Everything was in Russian and not many hot Russian chics either, so I saw no reason to waste more time there. We found the Penguin thing in a while and Garima was again possessed while me and Varuni were literally dragging our feet. We found a bean bag somewhere and took turns to sit in it. You can't imagine how relaxing that 1 minute break was.
It turned out that there were no places that offered heavy discounts. So Garima and Varuni bought a book each anyways. But Garima thought it an insult to come to a sacred place such as this and buy only one measly book, sheer blasphemy! She picked up another two I think. I didn't get anything because I'd spent it all on food. Doesn't matter, I know where to borrow them from.
Getting home was a big problem too. We took an auto till my place because the Delhi autos don't venture into Noida without permits or very hefty charges. Then I dropped them to the nearest bus stop, from where Garima's dad picked them up. A tiring day comes to an end. And another one's just ending. Yawwwn. I don't like the way this post turned out. It's so......tired. Good night zzzzzzzzzzzz....
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