My Many Wives

Whoever thinks reading is a wonderful hobby or exercise must, in my opinion, be wrong and very far from the painful truths that I have experienced. I don’t keep the count, but on a conservative estimate, I must have read at least five thousand books (that’s a guesstimate and I bet I have read more).

The problem with books is that they make you an addict, poison you with their contents and befuddle your mind. Some, like thriller books, just don’t let go of you. But I like thrillers because you can read quickly and forget easily. They do not haunt you like some other books do. I like classics because they calm you, bring a sense of peace and beauty in you. You admire the language and the narrative. What I am trying to say is that only very few books that you read stay with you forever, like you are married to them and have fallen in deep love and do not ever want a divorce.

I cannot prioritize books because I loved each one of them. But the ones that I seem to have married are the ones I will write about. Sadly, I cannot write about all my wives; yes there are many books I am married to. This is the beauty you see. These wives are not jealous of you, they do not complain that polygamy is a crime. They never tell me that I love some of them more than the others. That is why I am going to talk about only a few of them.

‘Tropic of Cancer’ and ‘Tropic of Capricorn’ by Henry Miller comes foremost to my mind. I read these books when I was doing my first job with the Ministry of External Affairs. I came by these books accidentally, in one of the pavement bookstalls in Daryaganj, Delhi. Those were the times when I used to go around quaint places in Delhi, mostly with my human wife, who was then a person of great interest in my life. I just picked up the books, which were, I must tell you, in a decayed condition. The covers could barely hold on to the pages, and the books had a washed and antiquated look. I read the blurb and somehow the books bought me (yes, my experience says that you do not buy some books, they buy you). When I started reading ‘Tropic of Cancer’, I thought I had made a terrible mistake. No, the books were dirt cheap, but the reading was challenging. Many times I put the book down and away, but it kept calling me to pick it up. When I was sufficiently ‘into it’, the book began to reveal it's secrets to me. 

Don’t be hasty to brand me a fool. How can books reveal their secrets? Believe me, I have read many a book written by prize-winning authors without understanding one bit of what they were trying to say, and ended up wondering what drove them to write the book and what made the people who awarded the book to do so? I am sure you would have such disappointments too! ‘Tropic of Cancer’ began making sense when I really understood Henry Miller, and when I told him that (metaphorically and not in person), he started revealing himself to me more and more. The most startling revelation, however, was that both the books were banned in India! I don’t know whether they are still banned and why they are banned ( I gather that the British banned it in 1936 in their empire)

‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell is another gem that I dug out from the dust. The concept and narrative simply left me breathless. ‘1984’ by the same author also disturbed me and filled me with fear by it's chillingly conceived possibilities for the world ( most of which actually have come true).

‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley really grabbed me by my collar and refuses to leave me even today. Again, it's prophetic visions made me really wonder whether science can really transform human beings into Robots. Well, we all know now how AI or Artificial Intelligence has taken over human intelligence is slowly but surely replacing it. For information, the author wrote the book in 1932!

One final mention, for I do not wish to bore you. ‘Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho, I will never forget. I can safely say that she (the book is feminine for males and masculine for females) is one of my best wives. I love her for the childlike simplicity of the narrative and sage-like wisdom.

Well, I must now end this story or it may turn into a novel!