Comments on: What’s in a name?

By: John Irving on Peeling the Onion - +: etcetera :+

John Irving on Peeling the Onion - +: etcetera :+ — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:50:19 +0000

[…] review of Günter Grass’s Peeling the Onion. [etcetera: We’ll even read phonebooks if Irving writes them. […]

By: Gopal

Gopal — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 23:51:44 +0000

Raviraj again

By: anniyan

anniyan — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 17:21:21 +0000

Mine is Raviraj in Usman road

By: capriciously_me

capriciously_me — Sat, 07 May 2005 17:09:52 +0000

hey…i am from salem…but dont remember any library in santham…chamundi had one & had 2 ladies at their counter who i strongly believe cudn’t read a line in english!!! oh…this post does bring back some gr8 memories…lovely

By: Tilo

Tilo — Sat, 30 Apr 2005 19:57:40 +0000

That was a cool story.….….

My library was Raviraj on Usman road.

By: Bee

Bee — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 15:50:01 +0000

I enjoyed this post. Thanks for sharing.

By: Sepia Mutiny

Sepia Mutiny — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 08:44:28 +0000

Le Carre in Tamil Karthik tells a droll story about borrowing a library book in Salem: “Do you have The Spy Who Came in From the Cold?”“Who is the author?”“John Le Carre.” … she scribbled something in the note, and left it ...

By: Karthik

Karthik — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 04:16:57 +0000

Everyone who reads will have a library story to tell, I’m sure. In Coimbatore, where I grew up, there used to be a place called “Choose And Read” right next to my dad’s office.

I was allowed a book a week, and over the years, I went from Hardy Boys to Sidney Sheldon to Ludlum (and sneakily — Harold Robbins and Irving Wallace).

A colleague of my dad caught me with a copy of The Piranhas, and told me that “at your age, you should read Clive Cussler” and I lived deathly afraid for a few days that he would tell my dad, and my dad would stop library privileges. I was also a little relieved that he hadn’t caught me with the Xaviera Hollander book the previous week

By: sibyl

sibyl — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 03:45:35 +0000

(I came here via “A simple desultory Philippic”.)

Ah, libraries! When people ask me if I am happy about moving to Melbourne, I tell them that the libraries are reason enough.

In Madras, I was a long-time user of the dusty Murugan lending library in Adyar. If I went there with my (very cool) uncle, he would buy me a dosai and coffee in the Woodlands next door. Dosai, coffee and Agatha Christie–my idea of perfection when I was 13.

By: Karthik

Karthik — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 14:52:07 +0000

I never thought of it like that, but that is a funny coincidence - Jenny didn't believe in last names either. Given the number of Johns that write, I am glad I ended up with Garp and not something like this

By: Subash

Subash — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 14:14:26 +0000

Your librarian is like Jenny I guess.She doesnt believe in last names..
You were extremely luck to end up with Garp, though.

By: Karthik

Karthik — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 02:10:09 +0000

Actually, it said “Periya Per”. It was funnier because she seemed to know her books — you could ask her about most books they had, and she’d know where they were.

Rose Milk and Panneer Soda are special delights. Have fun in Madras.

By: Prashanth

Prashanth — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 01:16:05 +0000

please tell me the comment didn’t read: “edo vaayla nuzhayaadha peru” for the book’s name!
man — indian libraries — even when you paid for the borrowing you could never get satisfied.
i still remember rajeshwari lending library on kutchery road, mylapore. just opposite was one of those damn open-door masala powder grinding shops and the air in the whole area was engulfed in throat-scorching chilli/sambhar powder. wonder how the mylapore mami’s survived that but i would always then walk a little further one to a place called “senthil’s softy ice” and drink rose milk (of course the guy would call it “rose vaatar” and it quickly became obvious why he used that term …)
ah madras, nalla madras — can’t wait this last week to get there!