Books and photo copies

The world of books was completely different for the college life. In schools we have a set of books which used to be released by the school board. There would not be any option or choice in them. We could go to any stationery shop to purchase them. But with collage this equation has completely changed.

On the first day of college I was under the impression that the system of books would be the same. Then in the first lecture the professor told us the choice of books we have for the curriculum. They had provided the list of books on the board. They told us that we could buy any book from the list and also provided the one that was preferred by most professors. It was a shocker to me. That is when I learnt that for college studies there is no single book that is released by the college board.

Next when I wanted to buy the books for college I was again surprised to learn that the college books are not available in all the stationery shops. For a college books there would be some designated stationery shops which would have those books. In those shops as well the books would be available in the limited quantity. If you get lucky then you will be able to buy the book on the spot. Otherwise you would need to place the order at the stationery shop and the book would arrive some days later.

Later I understood why the stationery shops do not keep the college books in large quantity. The reason watch the cost of them. The entire set of school books would cost around rs 200 or 250. Whereas one single college book would cost around rs 500 or more than that. I was surprised to see that the college books where so expensive.

When I went to the degree college to earn my professional degree the books became even more expensive. The books would be used for all the years but they would cost in thousands. Also these books were available in only a very few shops. Thankfully my dad was from the print media industry, he had contacts and hence I would get the books delivered at my doorstep with a discounted price. Yet I had seen my other friends and classmates travel across the city to buy a single book.

When the books were very expensive we had another option for them. We would borrow the book from the college library and we would photocopy the entire book which would still be less expensive. Imagine taking the photocopy of a book which spans over 5000 pages and costs more than rs 7000; for a such book the photocopy go to cost around rs 2000 which was still easier on the pocket.

When I completed my graduation at that time I remember I had around 10 books which were bought, three books which I had borrowed from my relatives, and photocopies of at least 20 books. I had kept all the books with me so that I could help any younger relative who plans to take the same study stream. When all my younger cousins had completed or at least chosen their study stream I decided to give away all those books so that any underprivileged student would be able to use them.

This was a Saga of books and photocopies of my student life which still has a deep mark on me.