Tuesday, October 31, 2006
after a most successful kidnapping orchestrated by E of Bella the Blue Truck we roared down the shady klashnikov-and-cocaine-smuggling alley where Mullick's daftar is to look at her new-paint and bookshelves wala daftar. where we met Ejaz who is always such a delight to talk to, and we started to talk books (as all people with more books than hair on their head are wont to end up doing sooner or later) and he told us about what i call the Theory of Book Borrowing, or the Physics of Chori. when someone comes to see you, say, at home, and they walk into a room that is full of books ("a room without books is like a body without a soul", cicero) they are struck with a wave of insecurity (he used a much better urdu word that i can't remember right now, alas): oh no!! this person's read all those books and i haven't!! MY LIFE AMOUNTS TO SUDDENLY A SQUASHED PINEAPPLE AND CREAM SHEZAN WALA CAKE! (okay this is my own dramaai tashkeel but it's my narration so there) and thus they immediately yank out books they think will validate them once more and ask to borrow them (of course, any self-respecting book-lover will promptly refuse because books that have your name on them are not meant to stray anywhere farther than downstairs unless person is on Sacred Exit Control List and even then with careful discretion). thus Books are Intimidating Markers of Something Desirable. hahahhahaha we were all most amused- Ejaz says he makes the insecurity worse by saying things like "what? you haven't read X? oh my god! you've missed out on so much!" hehehe. such evil glee :DMina at 3:47 PM
