The shelf world(Sheikh ubaid gul ghazaal) The shelf world

“Your character is known by the company you keep and by that you avoid”
The above thought holds true on character of a person, your company speaks your interest and the ideology your share about something, I remember the saying of famous Persian scholar molana Rumi , “oh beloved stay near knower of your heart, stroll beneath the tree having wet roses on.” Rumi has a profound philosophy in this statement that whoever is aware of the delicacy of feelings can mould your feelings to better. Just like when you pass by a wet flower branch, the drops dripping from it make you fragrant. From a general point of view, what Rumi wants here to be focused is good company or this could be seen supporting the above written statement.
Well we be in different company at different stages of life, sometimes the fastest running horse of life makes the left beyond impressions muffled yet still the voyage of life goes on unstoppable. In addition to the company of friends and well wishers there is another company quite unforgettable, as far I am concerned, the books indeed, without the shadow of doubt books have played a loving role in my life. Almost everyone of us has got a unique hobby, the hobby that reflects some of our within uniqueness, talking about my hobby it was always the collection of books from my blooming age, no matter could I get it or not, was it really the book I should be reading; I would love to turn the pages and feel a different charm when done with turning them. In my opinion there is a slight difference between “book worm” and a “Book lover”, book worm completes the book grabbing the words in it and book lover completes the book absorbing the feel of that book. I often use to question me have I been a book worm? And feel thankful having “no” answer from deep within, because I remember how any torn page of a book would pierce my chest like a dagger and how innocently I would search for alternatives to join that page again in my past times, isn’t it love? Yes I think this is love.
I believe that humans have a world of their own, that expands with age and goes on expanding, even I am having that little world in me, Truth be told, my books are the reflection of my little world or I have derived my world from books. Every time I look at my bygone life, I am convinced that the depth of our perception of something depends on our age because I had a unique perception of books in my childhood, far from world, lost in books, and generating my own thoughts about the books I read; let it be the cartoon Urdu book of Wali-Akber series, which has pair of cartoon characters (Wali(the small one) and Akber( the fat one)) drawn on it doing different interesting activities, that time if I saw Wali plunking mangoes from tree, I would be like “he is plunking these for me”, and pinching the page I would be pretending of eating those mangoes as if they existed; or if I saw Akber in jail I would think, “on previous page he tried to kill the rat, perhaps he missed and Wali got hit by baton that’s why he ended up in the jail” , instantly I would go other way thinking, “ Wali is his friend, how could he send him in jail”, finally fed up of running an answer I would turn that page and be drowned in the thoughts of next one same way. Anyways that time was truly inerrant, like a bookmark in a delicate corner of heart, which still seems dwelling in pages of that story of innocence and calls every moment of my growing age towards those innocent memories.
When it comes to my books, how can I forget the Reskin Bond to mention, a few steps beyond innocence, it is understandable that time had brought something new for me. Maybe I had become familiar with the feelings, sympathy, I could perhaps feel it then, otherwise how come, the sad end of Caesar "The Crow" would have pricked me badly and wish I could change it to happy ending, When I think about that time, I believe that feelings keep waiting for cause ,the cause that acts like wakeup trigger for them and fades away with the changing times itself. I am not saying the awakening of feelings is possible only with the book but when I got to know there is some feeling, which made me feel bad for that Crow then it was because of the book.
Taken a talk, the Eastern literature, it has its own place, especially Persian, I still don't understand how a writer can express such an abstruse philosophy in simple understanding, particularly on the subject matter of spirituality and eternity.
I am very much convinced on the system of sequence management found in their literature; until the reader reaches the philosophy written in it , he/she will find himself/herself in a unique world, where stories are floating everywhere and the movement voyage of tales ended they will be taken on eternal stroll. To be honest, the purpose of reading Persian was never to know about spirituality, but I loved listening to and reading stories; as a child, I was a ferry tail lover, irrespective of head and tail, whether it was the story of Bahram Shah and the white giant (dev-e safaid) narrated by my uncle or the story of Rustam and Sohrab told by the shepherd who use to come to our home.
I still remember how I requested that shepherd to narrate a story and didn't let him sleep all night. He kept sipping Kehwa ( Kashmiri sugar tea) until he finished the story but did not sleep, number of Kehwa cups were served to him until end of the story, that marrow he said in quite funny tone, " I am not scared of Azrael as of you", When I grew up I was interested in reading something new, perhaps my growing age had revealed all the fable lies, the worded ferry costumes, that is why it all appeared tasteless. At times I picked translated Masnavi of Rumi and it was something I wanted being a story lover, now I had something a story but not a lie, gradually I learned Persian and no need of reading translation left than actual text. Moreover their primitive style was an added point of my interest in them; yellow pages and Calligraphic writing with Iranian bamboo pens, every time I read those books I felt some romantic poet inside me, who after ages has found letters of his beloved, written so many ages before , and is fully lost in them, maybe I really was searching my love in those books. In their company I felt ruling a different poetic world and the depth of knowledge they have in them is better known to those belonging to this field. “Kash bodam chu kitab uftaad dar konje khamosh, ta na gardad robaro juz mardum e dana mara”, (“if I was a book settled in silent corner that no one except wise one could come front to me "), I think for me Kudsi(Persian poet) has better explained love of books in this stanza of his ghazal by wishing if he was a book in a corner. I often listen to this Ghazal of Kudsi, for some time this stanza had bothered me lot. I wondered what was the connection between a book lying in a silent corner and a wise one, mean if a book is lying in the corner away from eyes, it is obvious, no one will come in front of it anyway, whether wise or ignorant. "well can't reach the thirsty”, although the proverb has no gaps for doubt, for me the miracle happened, I have in mind few years ago when I had just started collecting yellow books ( primitive literature), one morning a man came to our house and handed Abu an old book. At first I thought he would be my father's some friend who was interested in the kind of literature I was looking for, but his love for literature was far away from love itself I guess, because the condition not to be told which I took that book in from my father, I guess the book had been in dust since his grandfather's or great-grandfather's time. Why shouldn't have i thought him away from love of literature. It took me a whole day to clean that dusty book, it was no longer in someone's dirty old chest yet the star of my book shelf. here I think was the answer of why Kudsi has shown a relevancy in a book lying in a silent corner and the wise. in my sight the book that for someone was a paper waste, was Gulistan e saadi Sherazi the book of renowned scholar of Persia(now Iran) I was holding a river of knowledge in itself, nowadays its translated versions are world famous and are indeed, wells for every thirsty eye quenching their thirst. Kudsi would have perhaps, had the knowledge of what an older book has to share is truly beyond the ordinary understanding, ordinary senses tend to avoid what goes beyond them and only a wise thinker could understand them, so Kudsi worded it in stanza.
What genre of any book has to do with the individuality of its reader? I was never the genre oriented reader, so this was the question, from questions of my mind. I loved reading books, regardless of their genre, I had a belief of why knowledge to be confined by looking for any genre particularly, if you can look for books instead. I still stand with my viewpoint but it seems quite reasonable to say that the genre of the book has somehow little to bond with the individuality of the reader, if not wholly. Usually most of the readers like me, are not genre oriented however if kind of spark is felt towards any specific genre, a phase of reader's individuality could be glimpsed by it. For instance, those looking for money and investment motivation, would go with "Rich dad Poor Dad" ,whereas fed up with failures would prefer "You Can Win" or "Master Your Emotions" over other books; and for some career oriented reader like me , "Wings Of Fire" acts like strength booster. Sincerely saying, apart from being the source of motivation to achieve something, "Wings Of Fire" in my vision, is the intense book I have ever read. There hardly would be any reader of this book whose eyes have not shed tears after reading it. Moreover “The Alchemist” to be mentioned if some reader holds a desire of transforming dream into reality.The genre of the book not only reflects the hold of the writer on some particular field, It is also based on the reader's interest; is an undeniable truth , hence the genre could be thought as having its role to play in book.
If there is no love between lover and beloved, then every feeling becomes meaningless. How charming is the relationship between a writer and a reader, just like the lover and the beloved , incomplete without each other, how beautiful are the books that act as a bridge of love between them and how blessed am I and every book lover like me to have books as love of our lives..
I think every writer while writing a book has an idea that there would be some reading lover as apj Kalam has written,
"I do not wish to set myself up as an example to others, but I believe that a few readers may draw inspiration and come to experience that ultimate satisfaction which can only be found in the life of the spirit” (from wings of fire)
"Reach the gazelles dwelling place either by following it or find way by its musk(its scent)"
This statement of Rumi also reflects my life. Although I have never seen a gazelle (most of the writers I read), I have found the place of Ghazal only by its fragrance(the books I read); the fragrance which turned the mud fragrant. The books which are the precious company I have ever seen. Sometimes books appear like time machine, taking you beyond the ages, isn’t it? Otherwise whither irrespective of east and west the writers before age could have been part of my life,
Wish day not to come when, there would be any gap left in my cores without the love of books. Not books yet my world,, " The Shelf World "

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