HOBBY: READING PART 6: THE BORROWING AND THE LENDING

 

Being an avid reader in those days meant that I would look for all sources for getting books and comics to read, on returnable basis, and, then, return, and borrow again after a few days and return… and so on.

And, being an avid collector of these, meant that there would always be friends or relatives wanting to borrow some of my precious collection from me.

First, the borrowing part. These used to be mainly school friends.. I remember borrowing Laurel and Hardy comics, Hardy Boys books, Tintin/Asterix (the ones I had not got yet from my friendly neighbourhood second hand books guys)…before returning, in a couple of days, each one would be literally ‘devoured’ page by page. Now when I get these gems in pdf form on the net, I wonder how life would have been if today’s advanced technologies had been available then. Wow. One thing I’d always make sure – the borrowed material would always be returned in the same good condition that I had taken it. Sadly, not so the other way round – (return by others).

The lending part: I had a rubber stamp, which gave my name, then,’Library’ and address… (the old style inkpad stamp).. AL, Library,MZR,Baroda.

As borrowers increased, I began numbering my collection and noting down which ones had been lent to whom , the date of lending and date of return(just like a library, but a free one).

There were(probably still are) people who borrow books and tend to mark up phrases they like, or words they don’t understand- I’ve always been very possessive about my books and comics collection and so, used to get really wild if someone brought back a book/ comic marked up thusly.

But, the guy who takes the cake, the dough and the whole bakery award for being a 'marker', was this school friend, maybe in 8th or 9th standard. Probably due to an abject lack of adult(Read s*x) education, I found that he’d mark up all the Archie comics he borrowed from me. What would he do? (Makes me laugh to think of it now) Well, to use a metaphor, he used to add full stops and cucumbers at strategic places to all the (comicbook) pictures of Betty and Veronica and any other females that he found in bikinis and/or curvaceous poses. Unlike all the other nicely preserved Enid Blytons, Tintins, Hardy Boys,etc, I had no choice but to throw away those mutilated comics. But then, again, as I said, he wasn’t really a pervert- just ignorant.

In those days, I was someone who was too polite and friendly to say 'No' to friends borrowing books, notes, textbooks, cassettes,etc,so I just began hiding the Archies whenever he dropped in ,and finally told him I had stopped lending them out.(Well, you live and learn, you know).

I do wonder, though, how he'd have reacted if he'd gone to one of Rio De Janeiro's free beaches? Incidentally, he was one of those people who get obsessed- like, he once went from Baroda to Mumbai, to the Taj Hotel just for a haircut, causing his mother to , err, tear her hair out-but, that's a post for another day. hahaha.