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| Zhang Lijia |
Zhang Lijia:
I met Anuj, the owner of Bahri and Son Bookstore in Khan Market on my second night in Delhi. When I reached the bookstore, I noticed the sign ‘closed’ on the door, though the light was still on. Just as I was about to leave, two people arrived, one Indian man in his early 30’s with wild curly hair and a middle-aged western woman. The man went inside and started to talk to the owner. He obviously knew the owner. I thought: why couldn’t I follow his suit? Inside the store, I found the owner, a man in his fifties with a handle bar moustache, sit on a high counter, doing his paper work. It seems to me he is the easy-going type and someone feels totally comfortable with himself and his position in the world. I told him that I was looking for a book about prostitution in Mumbai called The Beautiful Thing. The book owner chuckled: “how uncanny is this? You came to look for a book about prostitution in Mumbai and right in front you is the man who has just published a book on prostitution in Delhi.” The young man, named Mayank handed me a copy of his book, entitled Nobody Can Love You More: life in delhi’s red light district. We swapped name cards and chatted. When the owner heard I was a writer from China, he climbed down to join us. Holding my name card, he exclaimed: “I know you. I sold your books before!” Then he asked: “Have you got an agent?” I told him that the agency represented my last book didn’t exist any more. He clapped and said, with child like delight: “Now, we need to talk. May be I can serve you as your agent?” I know there are few literary agents in India and some book owners function as agents. But I told him that I wasn’t sure that I needed an India agent to present me. Still he asked: “How about lunch tomorrow? On me.” I said I had lunch plan already. “Then the day after tomorrow?” I agreed happily, especially the young writer was also going to join us. After the pair left, the owner, named Anuj, and I started to chat. It turned out that we have a few Indian writers as mutual friends/acquaintances. I love contemporary Indian literature, much better and richer than the Chinese. I guess the Indians have their own rich literary heritage and easy access to English language/education and there’s no censorship, not the same way as China anyway. Then he invited me to join him and his family for dinner. Why not, even though I had already had my dinner. That’s another thing I love about the Indians: they are often so warm, hospital and spontaneous. So I went to his house to meet his Canada-born Indian wife and their three lovely grown children. He took us to his favorite restaurant – a road side Chinese/thai restaurant where we enjoyed a hearty meal and even heartier laughs.
Oh, the joy of travel!More at Zhang Lijia´s weblog.
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