Temporary happily-ever-afters

And Happy Birthday

Dear Reader,

Back in the 70s', my family lived in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. One of my favorite memories from that time involves small to medium-sized stores that functioned as circulating or lending libraries. I’ve written about them before. They are the reason I fell in love with books, and reading. Their collection included books in Indian languages as well as a lot of books in English, predominantly novels and comic books. You could join the library and borrow a book (or many) for 7-10 days at a very affordable price. I wish I had a picture to show you the tightly-crammed shelves of books in each library’s small space. Many books had a plastic cover to prevent tearing, and some had the spines reinforced with stitching or completely new binding. Instead of one comic, you might find a bound version with ten comics. 10! It was like winning the lottery. Almost all the books showed signs of extensive use. Even as I type this, I can close my eyes and visualize the white tube light glinting off the dull plastic spines, the bored look on the vendor’s face, and the giddy look on mine, as the adults paid for the books. Whoever said paradise must be a library was right, and I used to wait with impatient excitement because we only stopped at the library on the way back from the market, after all the other shopping was done.

We moved from India when I was 10 though we continued to visit every summer, and I was about 16 or 17 when I borrowed my first romance novel from one of these lending libraries. These were old-fashioned romances with a guaranteed happily-ever-after which meant that when you arrive at the end of the book, you’re assured of permanent unchanging love, safety, and security. What a concept! Needless to say, I fell in love with these books. They set up an outsize expectation of somehow getting somewhere in the company of someone, and reaching this magical land of perpetual happiness. And yet, we find happily-ever-afters are temporary states, thresholds between two different journeys: life until this moment, and life after this moment. Which leaves us with just the present moment.

“Eternity isn't some later time. Eternity isn't even a long time. Eternity has nothing to do with time. Eternity is that dimension of here and now that all thinking in temporal terms cuts off.... the experience of eternity right here and now, in all things, whether thought of as good or as evil, is the function of life.”
― Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

Reader, is it fair to say that most human endeavors and journeys are about somehow lurching from an uncertain state and finding a certainty that lasts forever?

This week, I am celebrating a year on Substack. This has been an all-important year because I finally got past the usual should-I-call-myself-a-writer/ am-I-worthy/ will-I-ever-sell-a-book angst and settled down to write at every chance I got. I have taken the scenic route to get to this point, the most roundabout way you can imagine, and so, here’s to writing, and writing more. Thank you for your support and company!

Best,

Priya

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