@ a bookstore in Columbus

I don’t miss a chance of visiting a second hand bookstore in the cities I visit. Many of the bookstores I have been to in India were the roadsides except a few in Delhi and Bangalore. Karen Wycliffe Books in Columbus in the USA is one of the largest second hand bookstores I have seen recently. Peacefully, I could shuffle hundreds of books there: not only were they well-maintained and stacked but also, valuable and affordable. 

Wearing the mask generously offered by the lady at the counter, I spent hours in the store. After a few hours, I came to the counter and (as usual) thought of bargaining over the book-prices offered. And, before I could say anything, the lady ‘heard’ me saying it! She suggested me to check the prices of the books online before buying them! I was pleasantly surprised. She reserved the books for me. After the lunch break, I came back to see the books. At that time, Karen, 79, the super-energetic owner of the store and the mother of the lady at the counter was present.

We started talking, we talked and kept talking : while selecting, billing the books and packaging them. She helped me understand the second-hand book selling in Columbus and around.

(I have the similar conversations with our Netaji Kadam from Kolhapur for many years – since my college days. Last time when I met Netaji, little tired with age, he told me that many good books he owned are with me now!)

On my American Airlines flight to Columbus, I saw a documentary film, The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb directed by Gottlieb’s daughter, Lizzie Gottlieb. I wanted to pick up a book or two that Gottlieb edited at Knopf or a The New Yorker issue he worked on. In Karen Wycliffe Books, I picked up the fascinating biography of a world-renowned French theater actress, Sarah Bernhardt. The New Yorker issues were not available. Among some other books I’ve picked up at Karen Wycliffe Books are a book discussing books banned for political reasons, the madness of bibliophiles around the world and Susan Sontag’s journal.

The next day, I was in the neighborhood weekly market. Farmers and traders from nearby villages and towns had put up vegetables, fruits and eatables for sale. To my pleasant surprise, as I reached the market, I saw Karen! Immediately, she took out the four issues of The New Yorker out of her bag and offered them to me saying, “I’ve brought them for you. I felt we would meet again!” 

It was a great feeling. I want to relive such beautiful moments.

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