Live life like from a 'Library'

http://www.scert.kerala.gov.in

  One of the pleasures of growing up in a non internet enabled world; a wonderful place called a ‘Library’.  A Mecca for someone pursuing technical education, a convenient  place of shelter for few. for those interested in reading, there were many in those days, it was a fascinating place, with so many windows to explore, shelves upon shelves of dreams and knowledge, little windows from the world of “Alice in Wonderland” which could take you to cities vast and minds of great thoughts.

The indescribable smell of freshly bound volumes, silence enforced so well mutually by its occupants, broken occasionally by the high pitched exclamations of a anorexic librarian being bothered by non compliant youngster, or by the clicking of her stiletto upon the wooden flooring as she went around rearranging books onto the shelves.

There were libraries and then there were libraries. Large institutional ones carrying the burden of educating its young readers and old professors, research associates and deans pouring over volumes, engrossed to even notice the coming and going of people. A choir could pass around tables without the occupants even noticing, not that the librarian would let one enter the serene surroundings.

Then there were the community libraries, dingy one room affairs, with everyone vying for the morning newspapers,  the papers crumbled beyond recognition by late afternoon. The college going youngsters trying to grab the latest sports and movie updates in a jiffy, the older gentry trying to lay their hand on the prized possession so they they could fold the sheets into eight folds and hold it close to their myopic eyes for hours together. children vying for the cartoon of the day, and the ladies standing no chance in all this melee. These sheets of newspaper would get separated soon, the central editorial grabbed by the old man in lungi, the ‘appointments’ classified sheet shuffling between the unemployed youth who could never afford a newspaper and the retired school teachers and post masters hunting for a groom for their aging daughters.

Of course beating them all in terms of liveliness was the local college library. Where samosas hidden in handkerchiefs could be smuggled in, leaving their telltale oil prints on the dog eared pages of the popular magazines. Young love trying to bloom among the many volumes of sanity lined up on the shelves. Naughty youngsters trying to giggle watching cupid in action, being shooed down by the librarian. Nerds pouring over volumes large, desperate examinees looking for that one book which would save them from failure that year.

More popular were the lending libraries,  you could become a member and own a card, each card entitling one to draw one or two books at a time, each borrowing having a time limit of a week or ten days within which to return the book or a resultant penalty to be paid. Borrowings in exchange for a small fee in commercial libraries, or for free in the libraries being run by the local government authorities.

But they all had do’s and don't’ to be adhered to,

• Do return books on time so that other could use the books, magazines, especially the ‘in demand’ ones,
• Don’t dog ear the pages, use a book-mark instead, any torn sheet of paper or comb, would work fine.
• Don't underline or doodle on the pages.  
• Don't forget to return books before proceeding on vacations, the resultant ‘fines’ could cost you a packet, apart from depriving others of the precious volumes.
• You could withdraw only one book at a time, one which you have already selected, and you choose to hide other rare books in wrong sections so that they remain out of circulation ;  another crime in the library world.
• Don't try to steal a book out
• Don't hoard books at your home by using multiple cards borrowed from your classmates.
• Finally handle them with care,  don't use open books as paper plates for parking samosas, or pry open tightly bound books to keep them from flipping over.  

That brings us to the joys of borrowing from the libraries,

• Hunting for the book so much in demand for months together, not finding it protesting to the librarian, shrugging in helplessness.
• Finding the book in question one fine morning and jumping up in joy before realising that , you have to sacrifice it for another interesting book which you need for your forthcoming exams.
• Half way through your favorite book, your parent giving you task to be completed which would keep you away from your book for few more hours.

Finally the love for the book borrowed, the feeling of joy of holding it tightly against your chest, feeling the threads from its hard bound cover, the sweet smell of the fresh glue staying with you for much latter.

Knowledge that the book is going to be yours for a short while, enhancing your value for it many times over.

Is life not to be taken like a borrowings from a library !!!

The knowledge that nothing is permanent, something that comes your way has to be returned to its rightful owner, this feeling can be juxtapositioned against all possessions that come on to you  in this world. The duplex flat that you bought with most of your life earnings, the car that you purchased which cost you the moon, none of these are permanent. The land that you say is owned by you stands millions of years old, owned by thousands across the ages, and thousands more in years to come, thou shall savor it for a few decades, not more, your kin will squat on it for some more, before the intensity of your genes dilutes and your kin remain your kin no more.

The joy of loving something that is not yours,  the care and sense of belonging it brings you, can be compared to life too. Should we not treat our possessions as borrowed things, relish the joy it gives us, and return it unblemished for other to savor, instead of mindlessly ravaging it with a sense of total ownership.

Should your possessions be stamped with your ego reflecting the spoils of a conquest, the blood it carries of multiple warriors who fought on either side of the battle and sit as a mantelpiece as a mark of your battles,  or should these be the reflections of borrowings from life experiences, to be savored and worshiped as gifts from the universe.

The anticipation and hunt for books, representing your hunt for varied experiences,  the disappointments when you don't find the books, the joy of discovering the favorite title hidden behind some boring literary compilations, the joy of grabbing it before someone else takes it away, represent your journeys and explorations of life.

Not many people today would relish the joys of borrowed joy. The world has moved on, people want absolute ownership. Affordability has meant, that the student is no more grateful to the ‘Neighborhood Trust’ which runs the community library, today he can afford to own may copies of the newspaper or magazine that the library professes, so what if he never even bothers to read even the headlines thereof.

The speed of today's life means that the headlines are at your beckoning, landing up hot straight from the newsroom,   a speed which cannot be matched by the erstwhile libraries. No more lazied afternoon's stroll to the nearby library, the kids are zooming to their Zumba classes, secure in the knowledge that information is only a click away. But the billboards scream at you on the highways “Speed Thrills but kills”, but who cares anyway, people are chasing the thrills in their lives.

If only saner sense prevails ‘the art of living in a library’ could possibly enhance your palette, widen the scope of your choices, you may have great affordability but nothing could compete with 2000 books lined up in one place, nothing could provide you the solace, the peace of shuffling pages, the smell of the wood converted into pulp, organic stuff that which is biodegradable waiting to go back to its roots, yet forming a doorway into worlds unexplored.

Live life like in a Library, take but to return, enjoy the collection, admire the magnificence of the storage so tall, don't rue  that you don’t own the library, cherish that you are a member, for that is enough to enjoy every moment of its vast treasures.

Live life like from a library.