At a dusty corner of the library, the appears-new-but-actually-old books were bickering amongst themselves. “I do not think we’re outdated, not at all.”, said the self-help book, ‘Jeet Aapki’, forcefully,” I’m still relevant in these times.”. “Take a look at the other shelves, the books, they there are dog-eared, and in some cases, the horror – even torn. But they’ve all been used – and read several times by the people. Look at us! We appear brand new, but are possibly as old as time herself.”, retorted the ‘Rangbhoomi’, morosely.

Just then the bell tinkled, indicating someone new had entered into the library. All the books perked up, “Could it be my chance today?”, was their collective thought. The new person – a lady – approached the librarian, and soon they got busy in discussing the best reading plans, and pricing related topics. The books sighed, their excitement dampened, but not extinguished. After swiping her card, the lady started to peruse the titles on the shelves.

“Come here, oh beautiful one.”, yelled the ‘Apsara’ book, “Pick me up! Palat! Palat!”. “Tsk tsk, such bawdry language you use!”, chided, ‘Nirmala’,” It’s not beneficial to resort to such low level of communication”, she continued. The lady stood in front of their dusty corner shelf. The books – sucked in their breath with anticipation.” Aha! It’s OUR lucky day!”, chimed the ‘Apsara’ book, “She did a palat! Hoorah!”. “How about this section?”, asked the lady to the librarian. The librarian made a face, and lumbered towards them. “Oh! This is our vernacular section. We have some...ahem…Hindi novels here. They aren’t very exciting.”, she said with evident distaste, turning up her nose, “Why don’t you try the fiction section. We have the latest best sellers there.”, she...