Props on display

You guys do window shopping of books? 

I still do, occasionally. 

Why? You may ask. 

Because I have ample time. Because it is within my constitutional rights. Because window-shopping of books is not like book lifting: It's not a crime. 

Because......

I will fill in the blanks later, if I feel like doing it...... Otherwise, let this whole piece be a test of your commonsense. 

Meanwhile, you guys enjoy the suspense, for commonsense is so uncommon in this universe. About the other worlds out there, I don't know. Perhaps Jeff Bezos does. Perhaps Elon Musk does. Perhaps KP Oli does. Perhaps Rajesh Hamal Dai does. Perhaps our Rishi Muni knew and wrote about them in some ancient tomes. But I don't have the energy to turn on those annals of prehistory, travel back in time and make preparations for an intergalactic travel.    

Which brings me back to the topic once again: Window-shopping of books.

One fine evening last week, I was busy with my favourite pastime: Window-shopping books. 

There, at my usual hangout, a couple of new arrivals seemed to have outshone several others, just like some (supposedly) bright kids outshine others even on the very first day of a school year just because they are extroverts. 

On display was the biography of a former United States president with his larger than life grin. Guess who? A clue: This former big gun had featured in the 'golden pages' of the Nepali print media recently for working in a company by leaving his presidential baggage behind. Comparisons were made between the 'humble fellow' and our good-for-nothings that have been in national politics for decades, and the latter came under fire once again.     

Another clue: These days, his teenager daughter is hogging the limelight in the Nepali press for working as a cashier in a restaurant. 

The way our media guys glorify everyday struggles of 'celebrities' can surprise even the most reputed spin doctors. These guys fail to understand that one has to make a living even after leaving the high office if s/he has not had the opportunity to make fortunes lasting generations. Also, these 'celebrities' want to lead productive lives post-retirement. And their children cannot afford to rest on their parents' laurels in  a competitive society where everyone strives to live up to their full potential.  

Enough of clue-giving now. 

Next to his was a huge display highlighting the biography of a former first lady, providing a brief of what the book is all about. It highlighted how this myth-busting super-mum raised her two beautiful daughters and established herself as a fashion sensation of sorts at the White House while perfectly fulfilling the duties of the first lady. 

Then there were our own crop of 'luminaries'. One was this huge display about a former Maoist leader turned former first lady turned Janata Samajwadi leader (This many turns are enough, for I don't want this piece turned into biographies of our 'glitterati'). 

The last display, opposite the Maoist leader, was the cover of a book by a retired General of our national army on geopolitics and geostrategy. Despite trying really hard, I can't recall what was written on that display. 

Indeed, like human mind, history does not even bother to spare a few lines for people and institutions that fail to stand the test of times. 

Well, that's a prelude to my own predicament. 

While poring through huge displays (it's a given that propped-up figures sometimes get to occupy these slots and it was no exception this time), my head spun. 

There were these larger-than-life figures and here I was -- an ordinary citizen, who was definitely not going to set the Thames on fire!

And when a child came up before me, asking for money, it dawned on me once again that all these greats had no solution to the problems of this day and age -- the coronavirus pandemic, joblessness and deepening and widening poverty associated with it, climate change and a myriad others. 

Suddenly, all these personalities looked like props turned into some mythical creatures of sorts as part of a campaign aimed at selling books written on or by them! It dawned on me that we would not have found ourselves between the devil and the deep blue sea if some of these self-styled superhumans had a sense of the future and vision to deal with the crises we face today. 

Since that awakening, I have stopped searching for supermen and superwomen in bookshops.

Text and picture: Devendra Gautam