A safe haven for books

I came from a middle class family. I also was the first one to choose paramedical field instead of commerce or engineering field. That is why when it came to study books I got no help from my elder sibling and cousins. None of them had the books that I required for my studies.

Throughout my academic life I had been gathering the books which would prove to be useful not only for me but any younger cousin or next generation who decided to go for the medical field. From the scrap dealers to the second hand book dealers I had purchased reference books which were required for my curriculum. Since they were not the recent editions I got them at a discounted price. Though these had not been from the recent editions the information still remained valid, relevant, and useful. I had used these books through out my academic life.

When I completed my studies I was wondering what to do with these books. If I had given them to the scrap dealers I would have gotten the amount as per the weight of the books. To me it felt unfair to the books. I believed that these books had been carrying the vast knowledge which could not be measured in terms of their weight in kilograms and rather they deserved a better future. Hence I made my decision. I was going to keep these books with myself. I had decided that I would donate these books to someone like me who was in need of knowledge but with limited resources. I decided to wait till the time either some under privileged student comes to me for the books or I could give it to my younger cousins or next generation who decided to go for medical course.

Thinking this I had a stored the books in one of our bed storages. When I moved homes the books too moved with me to the new place. When I was in my new home, I realised these book had been staying with me for over 15 years. When I would look at them I would feel immense gratitude, at the same time I would feel the weight of knowledge not handed over to someone in need.

One day I decided that it was the time to act. I visited the book shops near my home to enquiry if they where interested in keeping the second hand books. Finally I found a shop where they had been keeping the second hand books to be given to the underprivilaged student. I felt like I had found the safe haven for my books.

I agreed to their conditions and decided to give all the books to this shop. The books were heavy so I requested the assistant from the shop. Thankfully they decided to help me and made arrangements to take the books from my home. When I handed over all the book to them I felt a strange relief as if I had been giving away what had been holding me back.

One day I received a call from the shop stating that they were able to donate all my books to an underprivilege medical student. When I heard that I was so delighted that I had happy tears running down my face.

That day I felt that I had fulfilled my responsibility not as a responsible ex student but as a human being.