Dehradun, Sept. 26 -- The Books from My Shelves

Books have been my lifeline for as long as I can remember. My parents, both educationists, and both part of important educational institutions in our small town, also had access to these institutional libraries. From early days, 'my bookshelves' expanded to encompass bookshelves of these cavernous, well stocked libraries. I not only got to read a diverse range of books, consult the reference section, check catalogues, but also learnt the basics of library consistent conduct: never a loud whisper, never a continued buzz of low frequency whispers, a stern rebuke from Mrs Alexander, our diminutive and kindly, yet stern librarian, would follow, silencing recalcitrant readers, and preserving qui...