Dehradun, Sept. 18 -- The Books from My Shelves

A personal library is rarely built in a day. Mine certainly was not.

The books on my shelves have arrived by different routes: some carefully chosen and bought, some received as gifts, some purchased for my daughters and later discovered by me, and perhaps a few borrowed books that somehow became permanent residents of the shelf!

For someone in government service, especially one who has moved through different assignments and places over the years, maintaining a personal library is not always easy. Books have weight, literally as well as emotionally, and transfers bring questions of space, packing and carrying. Yet one continues to collect them because books are more than objects. They ca...