Lives of the great always fascinate me. I have a good collection of biographies, autobiographies and memoirs. Notwithstanding, I would borrow books from various libraries on the subject to read. At one time, I was a member of Madurai Kamaraj University Library and had three cards to borrow books. As if that is not enough, I enrolled a friend of mine as a member of that library and thus increased the number of cards available for borrowing books to six. Those days the university library used to 8 am to 8 pm all the 365 days of the year. I would go there on a holiday with an empty suitcase. Select 6 bulky volumes covering the above three categories and return home carrying them in my suitcase. In retrospect, I am surprised at my own zest for reading and quest for knowledge. For it meant, taking 6 buses: Home to Karaikudi Bus-stand by town bus; Karaikudi to Madurai by moffusil bus; Madurai Bus-stand to University Library by city bus and then the same in reverse order.
All that zest and quest have been diminishing with the passing of years. My dreams ("impossible and impracticable dreams", my wife would call them) have also started fading after bumping into reality regularly and repeatedly. However, I am glad to inform you that my dreams have not been totally destroyed. Still there is some ray of hope in far corner of my heart.
Nowadays I am more inclined towards spirituality, biography slowly receding into the background. (My son says that is because at last I have accepted the fact that I would be me, notwithstanding reading any number of lives of the great). So be it.
My collection of books amounting to about 3000 has been posing space and health problems. My wife reasons with me: "How many years more are you going to live? Do you really believe you will ever be able to read all the books in your lifetime? As the books collect dust and cause allergic disorders, why not be reasonable and keep only the most cherished books, getting rid of the others?" I had to yield and have started the painful process of decluttering. So far I have got rid of about 1000 books. Then I realized I nearly had a mountain of newspaper and magazine clipping, besides xerox copies of some of my choicest collection. They are even more difficult to sort out and dispose of.
I shall keep you informed how fare in this difficult task. Thank you.
All that zest and quest have been diminishing with the passing of years. My dreams ("impossible and impracticable dreams", my wife would call them) have also started fading after bumping into reality regularly and repeatedly. However, I am glad to inform you that my dreams have not been totally destroyed. Still there is some ray of hope in far corner of my heart.
Nowadays I am more inclined towards spirituality, biography slowly receding into the background. (My son says that is because at last I have accepted the fact that I would be me, notwithstanding reading any number of lives of the great). So be it.
My collection of books amounting to about 3000 has been posing space and health problems. My wife reasons with me: "How many years more are you going to live? Do you really believe you will ever be able to read all the books in your lifetime? As the books collect dust and cause allergic disorders, why not be reasonable and keep only the most cherished books, getting rid of the others?" I had to yield and have started the painful process of decluttering. So far I have got rid of about 1000 books. Then I realized I nearly had a mountain of newspaper and magazine clipping, besides xerox copies of some of my choicest collection. They are even more difficult to sort out and dispose of.
I shall keep you informed how fare in this difficult task. Thank you.
