Just a book

Whenever I go to a bookshop, why do I always want to buy a copy of To Kill A Mocking Bird?
Yesterday, after lunch, we walked into a bookshop. Apparently, it is one of the most famous bookshops in Delhi, tucked away in one corner of the Outer Circle, currently under repair. Well, like all bookshops, it also looked rather inviting or rather I want to feel that way. We feel, what we want to feel, isn't it?A couple of days ago, I read an article on this bookshop. It has been graced by names that matter, including the prime minister, to get their share of newspapers and magazines, when they were yet to reach the pinnacle of fame. Notwithstanding, I started browsing the shelves and like meeting old friends, I came across titles to whom, I said, "Hey, how are you? Haven't seen you for a long time."And then I met Atticus Finch. It had a black cover with a sketch of a bird in white and wrapped up in transparent cellophane paper. I took it in my hands and caressed it as if I had met an old friend in a dank apartment after a long time, on a birthday. The rush of emotions was felt along with the questions of where I had been all this time, why didn't I come to meet earlier, it wasn't fair on my part and such sort--that bundle of inexpressible words that go through in that moment of embrace that tries to delete the absence that had been. Both know that the meeting will be fleeting. It will be over in a matter of minutes. One had waited for a long time for the moment and another had travelled a long, long way for the moment to happen. There was nothing surprising about the meeting. No mystery at all. But that existential urge and the carnal craving to make the moment eternal is something worth revisiting a thousand times. Is it the gait of Gregory Peck, a widower, a father of two, a lawyer and an idealist residing in Maycombe country during the years of Depression? Or is it how Jem and Scout was growing up? Or is it just about some fondness or affection? Difficult to explain as emotions, silly emotions, always are. There can be no apparent reason to buy another copy of the book. As it is, we tend to possess two copies of most of the books we possess. Perhaps, it is about liking something so desperately, that one loves to go back to it at the slightest opportunity. There can be no rhyme or reason to it. One should not try to find one too. Else, why should Rick open a salon in Casablanca, where he came because he thought there was water. He was misinformed, he said. He wanted to be misinformed. He liked it that way. Wish I could buy another copy of the book.