During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport. That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’t ju
As a book lover, I need the least of inducements to talk of
books. The people I get along best with are those with whom I can converse
about books. In my family, I am the one who wants books as gifts, and also
gifts nothing but books!
Thus, when I heard of The Sunday Book Club (TSBC in
short) from Sudha, I was thrilled. I had been on twitter for a long time, but
had not really been able to join in many conversations. Here was a chance for
me to actually be a part of something interesting. But then came trouble in
paradise. Sunday afternoons aren’t the best time for me, with the whole family
at home, sometimes even guests, with lunch almost always so late, that it
clashed with #TSBC. I was thus reduced once again to be a silent spectator,
lurking around, going over the interesting conversations, but much after they
were over. The only time I had a chance at participating was when I was
travelling, but my mobile network refused support, and there I was, not able to
connect. And thus it continued, and I despaired of ever participating in all
those enthusiastic discussions based on some of my favourite topics.
And then, a couple of weeks back, by some sort of miracle,
I suddenly found myself free a little
earlier than usual, lunch done, chores completed. I glanced at the watch, and
it was just about to strike 3.... TSBC was about to begin, and I could
participate at last!!!!! Hubby was having a nap and Samhith was busy with his
stamps. I sternly cautioned him against disturbing me for the next hour, and
headed to the comp, all set to have an hour to myself, to do what I loved best
– talk about books. The icing on the cake was the topic for the day –
Mythology, a topic I can never stop talking about!
So it was, that the next hour passed by, in a sort of dream,
and so fast that I scarcely noticed the passage of time, so engrossed was I in
the discussions, and so painfully aware of how little I had actually read L.
The discussions continued, way past the time allotted, such was the enthusiasm.
By the time I turned away from my Twitter Timeline to turn my attention to
Samhith once more, I had gained so much – a long list of books I wanted to
read, a bunch of new friends whom I hadn’t even heard of, before that hour, and
above all, I was one of the winners of the TSBC giveaway – ‘Govinda’ by Krishna
Udayshankar! It was surely one of my best Sundays, ever!
It has been two weeks since then, and two more topics have
been endlessly discussed. The book I won has been delivered, courtesy, Hachette
India, and has already been read, leading to a lot of work at home left
incomplete! This is seriously not the right time for any of you to visit my
home, such is the state of affairs considering my love affair with books, which
has been taken to completely new heights, all thanks to #TSBC.
This post originally began as an introduction to my review
of the book, but as usual, once I began I couldn’t stop myself, and this has
led to too many words, and thus an entire post on TSBC. The book review itself will soon be up... or rather, as soon as I finish reading it once again! Meanwhile, if you are a book
lover, or even if you would like to read more, TSBC is the place to be, on
Sunday afternoons, from 3 to 4.
I can see your shelves are overflowing with books. :)
ReplyDeleteWe have started unpacking ours but seriously there is no place to keep them all.
And like you, I can also not make it for Sunday TSBC chat.
Nisha, if you say that, with your nice, new, big house, you can imagine the situation at mine!!!!! and sunday is a big prob indeed, but after that one time, i have now realised that the discussion goes on all thru the week.. join in sometime and enjoy the fun!
DeleteNever heard about TSBC. Will check it out. Thanks, Anu. :)
ReplyDeleteWould love to see u on twitter, Bindhu... but they are on Fb too.. and if u miss it, u can answer the questions later on their page :D
DeleteAnu, a very belated but heartfelt thanks for this wonderful post on #TSBC. It is thanks to people like you that it has become what it is today. Thank you on behalf of my co-founders as well.
ReplyDeleteyou are welcome, Sudha! and it was a pleasure to write about something I enjoy so much.... and after getting such a wonderful book, how could I not write about it?
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