Dhobi Talao resident Abdullahji laments the dying world of circulating book libraries
@thewarrier
Today as you board a train, bus or the metro, the most common view is that of people peering intently into their mobile or tablet. If nothing else, they would be chatting on their phones or listening to music with earplugs plugged in. There was, however, a time when the commute to office or long-distance travel meant renting or buying a book to read. That is the era that Dhobi Talao-based septuagenarian Abdullahji fondly reminisces.
"I started this store in the 1950s, almost 60 years back," he says as he sets forth towards his tiny 10 sqft Rita Circulating Library situated close to Metro Cinema. "I used to trade in women's accessories and vanity items. Actors like Mumtaz and Suraiya have come to my store to buy the Chinese fans that I used to stock then."
So how did the transition to literature happen, we ask. He explains, "One of the shopkeepers around asked me to keep a few books here. I browsed through one of them but didn't like it; so I turned him down. He, however, persisted and asked me to hold onto the book for no cost. I left it in a corner of my store thinking that it would remain there forever. But I was wrong; I still recall the first time I read a comic—I didn't like the presentation and thought it wouldn't work. But the next day, I leafed through the pages again and the day after that—and the concept grew on me. And so, I started stocking comics too."
"After my father introduced me to the world of comics, I became a regular here," says 65-year-old Deepak Rao, a comic collector, "I have even stolen some from his (Abdullahji's) prized collection," chuckles Rao, the camaraderie between the two evident in the twinkle of their eyes. "He is a thief; he would run away with my comics and won't show up for the next month or so," adds Abdullahji.
While previously he used to spend 12 hours at the store, Abdullahji now walks in by 11 a.m. and wraps up by 5 p.m. on most days. "I will come here for as long as I can. Neither my son nor my grandson is interested in this store. My grandson is hooked onto television as most kids today are," laments the aggrieved old man.
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