I was secretary to the managing director of one of the biggest companies in the world. My office was in one of the busiest areas of the financial capital of the country. Zuvyzbu Inc. had all the ultra-modern facilities man could boast of. Videoconferencing was the norm of the day. My cabin just outside boss’s, was a huge one. Every room was carpeted, and I often wondered that it would have cost a few lakhs to carpet the huge office with such costly stuff. I felt alone and without any friends in this concrete skyscraper. Although in her thirties, I had left avid reading long back. Those days, I read anything I could lay my hands on. As I withdrew into my shell, I turned to reading once again.
On the way back from office, by chance , a small board caught my attention.” Happiness library”. The smiling, gentleman behind the desk, in the 10 x 10 room with neatly arranged wooden shelves, was happy to help. A wooden nameplate was kept on the desk. The golden letters on it glowed “ K. Kumar”. He took out a thick blue register, and asked me for my name. “ M. Milee”. He wrote my name in the thick register with a shell studded black ink pen. Unlike all other places I had been to, he never asked for a surname or age or even address. Then he told me “ your library no. is 01.SA.2010. You just need to remember this number”. Somehow, it seemed that I knew this number all along. Seeing the strange expression on my face, he said “ you joined on 1st Saturday of 2010”. And he told me “whatever you would like to read - history, novels, stories, biographies poems, plays, science, …you’ll find it there., choose whatever you want to”. I began to get my doubts! Does this small place have all these ?
I asked uneasily “ what are the fees”?. And the old gentleman told in a whispering tone “ I was a teacher, and loved to see children reading. Even now, I do. After retiring, I have opened this place, and get the pleasure of teaching when the books are read. It’s free, my child!” . I asked out of curiosity “ you do not charge any membership, nor any fee for books, how do you meet the costs of running the place?”. His face lit up with a smile “ There are no workers, only me. So there is no salary. The room has been donated by an old student of mine. He owns this building. He pays all the utility bills. I have my food with his father, my classmate, and friend of last 66 years.”. This was too amazing to be true. In today’s world of cut-throat run for the first place everywhere, everything free!.
He glanced at his watch. It was 6.15 p.m. His voice echoed “ Now it’s supper time for this old man, mine is before sunset. I’ll be happy if you could join me, you can meet my friend also”. Oh! This was a temptation too hard to resist. Tomorrow being Sunday, I had little to do at home as I lived all alone. I nodded my head eagerly. He walked out of the room and asked me to follow him. I asked “ Are’nt you locking the room?”. Again I got his brilliant smile “ The knowledge never gets reduced by giving, in the land of words, nothing can be stolen”.
We climbed a flight of stairs in the same building, to his friends house on the first floor. There was a spring in his steps despite his age. The bell was answered by a tall slim man with jet black hair. He looked around forty. And I was shocked when Mr Kumar introduced him as “ Shahnawaz, my friend “. Another surprise for me ! two bosom friends of many decades from different religions. That too, in this city! But strangely, his friend had a sad look on his face. It almost seemed he was sorry ….for me.
