The First Encounter

“You come to the library to read and you can’t read the sign at the door. Keep Silence! This is a library, not an amusement park if you have some talks to do then go outside but not here” said the librarian.

“But sir we are studying only not gossiping. I was struggling to solve the question and he was helping me” said the boy.

The librarian turned to Raghav. The 15-year-old lad was prepared for a blast in his ears, but the old librarian had lowered his pitch when he asked “Are you a teacher?”

“Do I look so old?” wondered Raghav and moved his head sideways.

“Is it a school?”

Again, Raghav moved his head sideways.

“Then don’t make it one. It is a library. People come here to read books not to teach. If you want to, then start giving tuitions from your home” thundered the librarian and walked away. The other boy gestured to Raghav an apology by pulling his ears. Raghav winked at him and got up from his chair. As he was leaving, he heard the librarian bashing readers on the other table. 

“This old man keeps on reminding others to maintain silence, but he is the one who breaks it most terribly” spoke someone from behind.

“Indeed. I and a boy were whispering. To stop us from whispering, he had to shout at us" told Raghav. He turned to look at the person who initiated the conversation. He could feel the hot rush on his face. That boy was not talking to him, instead, he was talking to a girl who was standing beside him. Three of them exchanged glances and the duo walked out from there.

Being an introvert and having a father with a transferable job had always been tough on Raghav. In his 15 years of life, he had lived in 7 different cities spanning 4 different states. His father was promoted as a branch manager which meant another transfer and this time it was Delhi. That day while he was gloomy, his sister, a second-year undergrad student at Delhi University, was on cloud nine as the transfer meant she would no longer going to stay at the hostel.

Amidst all this one thing that happened for the good was that the state library was a stone throw away from the place he would be staying till his father’s next transfer or till the time he would leave for college. But the first encounter with the librarian had made him think twice about the idea of spending quality time at the library. “I would rather prefer to issue the book and read it at home” he thought as walking back to his home.

His arrival at the home coincided with his father’s arrival from the office. But from the car, his sister got out as well.

“Did you bunk your college?” asked Raghav, whose sister would often come an hour later than their father come.

His sister, making a straight face, replied “I had an exam today”

“Since when Delhi University’s students started studying” teased her brother.

“Oi! Do you know how many gazette officials are from DU?”

Raghav smirked.

“Just wait! It is a matter of few years, and then I will also going to be one of them” said his sister as she slapped at the back of his head and went to the room which was being shared by both.

Raghav rubbed his hand over that spot and said “Didi did one good thing”

“Hitting you?” said his father.

“No. I had forgotten about it. There is the Delhi State library here. To have a membership this form had to be signed by a gazette officer” Raghav took out a folded sheet of paper from the pocket of his pants and handed it to his father. His father glanced at it and kept it on the table.

“Mister, you have boards exams in this academic year. Don’t be so forgetful. What kind of books do they have? Do they also keep books related to your syllabus?”

Raghav, looking at his hands, said “Yes they do have them” then he met the gaze of his father “But there is a great collection of literature which I had been longing to read”

His father nodded and said “Literature! It’s good if it is limited till reading only”

Raghav’s mother walked out from the kitchen with a glass of water on the tray. While serving it to her husband, she said “Yes! Strong literature means good marks in English. You score well in mathematics and science. With constant reading, your marks in English will also improve”

‘Marks’, ‘score’, ‘percentage’; Raghav was tired to hear these words daily since he started his grade 10 classes. He hated when every activity of his would get associated with board exams and career. His train of thoughts was disrupted as his father spoke.

 “I will get it signed by my colleague’s wife I think she is a gazette official. Here keep it back in the kitchen” he handed over the empty glass to Raghav and started discussing with his mother regarding the new school.

He obeyed his father and then went to his room.

The Unusual Encounter

By the end of that week, he had become a member of that library and also got admission to the new school. “Your school admission is done. Now we will look for good tuitions” his father said as he rested himself on the sofa.

“I don’t want tuitions. I can study on my own” retaliated Raghav.

“Son this is Delhi, not our last place Jalandhar. To score good marks students go to tuition classes here” told his mother.

“So, let them go. I don’t want to go!” asserted her son.

“Raghav! Mind your tone” said his father.

Raghav squirmed. His father continued “Okay if you don’t want to attend tuitions then don’t go but keep in mind that after the first terminals if your aggregate reduced by 1% from your current aggregate, then I won’t listen to anything”

Raghav nodded and went away. He despised the idea of tuitions. “First attend school, then do school’s homework, then off to tuitions and do their practice work. Just eat, sleep, study, and repeat every day for the next 2 years. Will it guarantee I get into ‘good’ college” he mumbled in his breath while he grabbed his bag, put his mathematics book, pen, and writing pad.

“I am going to the library” he informed his parents before he left. Although he didn’t admire the scolding of the librarian during his last visit, after what had happened at home, the library was the only option.

The library was almost empty. The boy he had helped last time was also nowhere to be seen. There were few people scattered all over the library. But none of them grabbed a seat. As soon as they got their book issued, they left. That meant that he and the librarian were the only humans left there.

Almost an hour had passed, he had completed the revision of the first chapter which he had learned in his previous school. It gave him an idea that he would have to go through other sources as well to enhance his concepts. He looked at the librarian who was scribbling something on the paper. He pushed his chair with minimal force to get up. The noise startled the old librarian. Raghav was ready for the scolding but the librarian ignored him and continued to write.

Raghav walked to the book rack to scan for a mathematics practice book but before that, he found ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran.

 “Great! After reading its few pages, I will continue with my search” he thought as he slumped back on his chair. But the first page turned into forty pages. He was just 15 minutes shy in completing his second hour at the library when he felt the dryness in his mouth. He didn’t remember when he had the last sip of water. He looked for the bottle in his bag “I forgot to keep it!” he cursed in his breath. He tried to wet his throat with saliva but that triggered an episode of coughing. He decided to leave for home and put his writing pad and pen in the bag. Just then someone tapped on his shoulder. He turned to see the librarian holding a water bottle. He gestured at Raghav to have water from it. Raghav gulped down the water.

“If I say thanks, then will I get scolding or acceptance” he wondered as he passed the bottle back to its owner and then he joined his hand, bowed down to say thanks.

He was walking away when the librarian said “Wait! You forgot your mathematics coursebook”

“He spoke! He broke the rule!” celebrated Raghav as he turned to take his book.

“It seems that they have edited it a lot,” said the librarian while passing it over.

Raghav was confused by his statement but he nodded. Taking few steps ahead he paused, and again turned to the librarian “Sir! This book is third hand. My sister took it from my cousin and now it's with me. It’s almost 6 years now”

He knew he broke the rule, but the librarian was the first one to do it.

“I am not talking about the book that got published. Yours is the republished one. I am talking about the original version of the book that was sent to publish” said the librarian as he walked back to his desk.

Raghav followed him and asked, “How come you know about the original book?”

The librarian took a deep breath and said “I know I broke the rule by speaking but the library is not a place to talk”

Raghav bit his lip and started to walk away. “But that doesn’t mean that there is no other place to talk,” said the librarian as he started scribbling again.

“Then, where?” asked Raghav.

“Central Park, tomorrow, at 6:30 AM. I hope you get up early” said the librarian as he struck off something on the paper.

Raghav nodded and left.

The Meet Up

The next day his sister grunted in her sleep as the alarm on her phone rang. Raghav had set it up the previous night. He canceled it before she woke up.

He was ready to leave for the park when his parents came out of their room. “How come you get up early in the morning?” asked his father while yawning. “I had decided to go for a morning walk” replied Raghav as he walked out of his home.

It had been half an hour since he came to the park. But the librarian was nowhere to be seen. A few minutes later, he saw him coming with a bag that seemed quite heavy. He reached out to help him ." Sir, please give me I will hold it”

The librarian smiled and nodded.

“Apologies for being late!” said the librarian as they walked towards the sitting area.

Raghav was taken aback by the latter’s soft demeanor. Both settled on a bench. The librarian took the bag from him and dug his hand deep inside it. He pulled out a thick book and passed it to Raghav. The book was hard-bound with a black cover and was titled ‘The concepts of Mathematica Part – I’. He skimmed through it. The book contained an extensive explanation with lots of practice exercises.

“Where are its other parts?” asked Raghav as he turned pages.

“They are also in the bag” replied the old librarian.

"Did all three books are for the 10th grade?”

The librarian grinned and said “No. The other parts were for the eleventh and twelfth standard”

“Are they as thick as this one?”

“Of course! Mathematics is nothing without concepts and practice. My father used to say that. That’s why he tried to incorporate as many problems as possible” told the old librarian.

Raghav’s mouth fell open “Your father curated this book. Oh, man! I never imagined I would be sharing a bench with the son of the person whose book is used by millions of school kids. I wish if this could be our book. It would have saved lots of students from spending lots of money on coaching classes. Didn’t your father have any say in editing?”

The librarian took a deep breath. Looking at a distance he said “He was one of those brilliant minds that were gathered to curate this book. But before he could complete the last book he passed away in his sleep. Thus, the remaining work was done by the rest of the team. After the book was completed as a mark of respect, the team sent the first copy to my mother. A decade later, before she passed away, she handed over me these books. From then on, they had been traveling with me and my family wherever I got posted. I had been too busy in the Army that I never knew my daughters had been using them for their studies” he clapped his right hand on his lap “I had a shoulder injury because of which I was declared medically unfit. I had to take early retirement. The initial days were rough. I was feeling lost. So, one of my friends helped me in getting a job as a librarian. But the boredom gripped me again. You know, to just sit there all day. Then one day while helping my wife at home, I found these books. After going through the first chapter I realized my love for maths and every day I learn from it and solve questions given in it. From this year, I also started giving classes to underprivileged students after library hours. I assist them in all subjects but I like to teach maths”

Raghav was spellbound. He continued gazing at the old man as he was enamoring the tales of his teaching experience. He then compared his life as an officer with his current position as a librarian cum teacher.

The old man turned to him and said “Son, never think that you can serve a country by being in defense. You can serve your country by being a law-abiding citizen and being kind to everyone” There was a dip in his tone “I know at times I scold too much in the library. But this is what I am supposed to do as a librarian, isn’t it?” he winked at Raghav.

Before they left for their home, the retired colonel said “If anytime you need some help you can refer these books but mind you, they should remain the way you got them”

Raghav smiled. He put the book back in the bag and held it for him till their ways parted. While on his way home he looked at the people present there.

While on his way home he observed a middle-aged man carrying a cloth bag stuffed with vegetables on his shoulder, a young woman rushing out of her home, and the newspaperman aiming at the second-floor balcony. "Different people with different faces with a different tale to tell, like the librarian”, wondered Raghav “The only thing that one has to do is have the heart to listen to these tales" said Raghav to himself as he imitated the action of throwing the ball at the wicket.