A Visit To The Bookstore

Was browsing through the Oxford bookshop the other day. What people read is what sells is what is stocked. I can see the trends in our world displayed on the shelves before my eyes.

The management and self-help sections are overflowing. The ‘art’ section stocks what I’d think of as useless garbage with a price tag. There are glossy new covers that catch my eye till I read the title and the words “repackaged and recycled” come to mind.

In one corner I saw what we Indians think of as stuff for firangis. One item on exhibit was a ‘spiritual diary’ which was a 6-inch x 1-foot diary… reminiscent of the Vedas that the hermits are portrayed as reading in our paintings.

Another thing that stopped me dead in my tracks was a colourful box titled “Spirituality Kit”. Opening the cover yielded the following findings:
1 little copper pot
1 bell
1 box of incense sticks
2 mini books with excerpts from Hindu texts.

Spirituality can be bought at Rs.895 not inclusive of taxes.