An Evening

I'm back from office. It was a busy day as government officials are not supposed to do many works in a day but I'm the new one, the young one so I try my best to work hard and finish with all the pending public complaints regarding electricity. Yes, I work in the electricity department of the capital city and as a young man I understand my responsibility to repair the department which has been puncturing by old officials since the department was made.

I make some tea in kitchen, pour it into a cup, come into my single living cum bed room, place it on my study table and open a book; Rusty goes to London, the story of Ruskin Bond. I suppose he writes for kids but I liked his story because he has written the stories based on Indian places and I'm always fond of reading books about Indian villages. It reminds me of my childhood days that I’d spent happily in my village.

The book keeps reminding me of my early days and I can’t stop myself from missing those good days. A guy knocks on my door. I open the door and find the engineer who works in the electricity department but in another office at another place but lives in the same apartment at ground floor and makes and eats dinner with me. He is strange. He is of the same age as mine but he has lost his hair on most of the parts on his head. I ask him to come in and sit. He sits and I take my seat on the chair and take the book. I know he will sit and chitchat. I can read and chat at a time.

I get lost into the story soon and so he has to take a newspaper which is kept folded next to him.

‘Where is today’s newspaper?’ The expected question came from him. I knew he will ask for fresh newspaper.

‘It’s still rolled into a rubber band somewhere in balcony.’ I answer, visualizing the newspaper that I’d seen in the morning.

Suddenly I feel helpless and want to go out and buy some books of Ruskin Bond. And I can’t help myself when I'm in need of a novel. I can sell my course book or any another thing to buy a novel.

‘Is there any bookshop around?’ I ask.

‘Not here. But at some kilometers away.’ He answers, dipping his head into newspaper.

I switched to my phone and typed book shop in a red app called places in my phone. I find many book shops but all at a distance of more than two kilometers away.

Om book shop, I found it in a market which was some five kilometers away.

‘Let’s go.’ I say.

‘Okay.’

I know he can’t refuse to me. I have made him my friend and we go outside when we feel like eating something in the evening and I pay most of the times as he get less salary and I feel sorry for him.

I want to go to my favorite bookshop. I’ve a bike and I’ve just got it servicing done I want to ride it as much as I can and when I comes to night I love biking at night among head lights.

Within fifteen minutes, we reach to the South Extension part-1. I realize its Monday and the market is closed for the day and I am very confident about it because I’ve lived this place for years when I came to Delhi.

I park my bike before a down shutter and ran to my favorite book shop which is in basement. I find the narrow door opened. I ran downstairs.

‘Is there any Ruskin Bond’s new arrival?’ I ask the counter man, who is bald and he knows me since long.

‘Yes.’ He says and directs, one his guys to get me the one. ‘Second shelf with blue cover. Hard cover.’ He adds.

Before his staff would arrive I begin to search on the shelf but fail to get the one. His staff also struggles to get the book and another joined who knows which one to take out.

‘I don’t like it.’ I say.

‘Where are the rest of Bond’s book?’ I ask.

‘There,’ the bald man says, pointing to a narrow lane between big book shelves.

‘Go with him and tell him to do fast.’ I hear the bald saying it to one of his men.

I see a shelf full of books written by Ruskin Bond. I get confused which one take out. The staff and my friend stand on back. I sit on my legs to look at the titles clearly. Very few light reaches there.

‘Sir, please do fast. The shop is about to be closed.’ The staff says from behind when he finds me reading the back cover of each book on the shelf.

I take out two, pulled my wallet, pull my card and hand over to the staff and ask for get them billed and then ran to a corner which is very dimly lit and no light can reach there but I want to see some more books because I'm visiting my favorite shop after long.

‘Shit.’ The little light that was coming died and I can’t even look at the titles.

‘You’ve done intensely. Haven’t you?’ I ask.

‘It’s a time to shut the shop. It’s Monday. We already have little staffs and they want to go home.’ The bald says, punching the keys before him to bill the books.

I see another bulb flashing strong light only above the new arrivals. I run there to see some books. I read some more titles but don’t want to buy more otherwise I’ll run out of cash and have to think.