Books that keep you
Some books call you, and you can do nothing but to go quietly, pick them up and if you get lucky, perhaps, form a bond and keep it close forever. That’s what happened when I bought Complete Works Of Kahlil Gibran. The pre loved book with its hazy print and old weary pages called me out at and held me together from the minute i picked it.
The book has something for all seasons, moods and phases. Joy and Sorrow, Work, Giving, Finding God, Love, Marriage, Freedom, Pain, Passion, Children, Life, Friendship and Religion among the rest. May be which is why it stays relevant year on year. I open the omnibus once in a year or more, and there is a new lesson learnt every single time. So much so that i thought i need to have a better copy of this book.A new book was purchased. This time with a purple satin hard cover, obviously costing more. It looks and feels better; though it's just lying on the book shelf. And the other one which is now in a tattered and old state lies on my bed side table.
Perhaps some part of the book read me to myself, like a revelation, layer by layer, till i could finally accept who i am, what i am meant to be and be content with it. For this, I will eternally be thankful to Gibran. A torchbearer for dark times, a friend when the world is uncharitable; one of those books that keep you. Best 800 pages ever invested in :)