Resolution

For a period of about three years from 1998-2001, I was in a small town of West Bengal - about two and half hours train journey away from Calcutta.  During some weekends I used to escape  to Calcutta to watch the Hoogly flowing under the Howrah Bridge, to feel the vibrations of the bridge under my feet during peak traffic, to roam around the new market to watch the beautiful Bengali women or to watch Calcutta from the Esplanade in the evenings.

While waiting for the suburban train on the Railway platform of Calcutta, to return to my small town abode in the late evenings, it was my habit to look at the various book stores and magazine stalls. Among these stores, in a corner was placed - I hope it still is -  the Ramakrishna Mission Book Store. On some days I used to buy a hardbound copy of any one volume of the nine volumes of  of 'The complete works of Swami Vivekananda'. In installments I collected all the Nine volumes. When I shifted from Bengal to another town in Central India, these volumes were a substantial part of my luggage, considering that I was not married then and all my possessions used to fit in to a medium sized suitcase and a bag.

I had planned to read all the volumes and write in a notebook, about my understanding of Vivekananda. But like most plans and resolutions, this also never came to the execution stage. And in course of these fifteen years or so I have managed to read the books in bits and pieces; the books largely becoming decorative pieces in the drawing room rack.

In these fifteen years, I managed to lose the Volume-I of the set. A friend in the central India town,  borrowed it and never cared to return it. Since then, a sense of incompleteness stared at me from the racks. Finally, to fill the void in the beginning of the stack arranged serially from Vol.I to Vol.IX, I ordered for the book through Flipkart. The book was delivered to me today. The set is now complete. Now, the rack will look nice.

Once again I have planned to read the books one by one and write, whatever little understanding i will have, at this place. Let's see, if this time around I would discipline myself and keep to a task.

Photo Courtsey: Chennaimath.org