The golden steps of a literary eternity that beckoned us...

TO HEL! | With Literature😍

05 July 1997 

#memoriesfromdiaries 💛

Who amongst us, students of literature, could ever forget our blessed Outline History of English Literature, (HEL) by W. H. Hudson, which proved our vital bread and butter back in our UG days, ain’t it?

The book that helped us get a good grounding and a sure foundation before we could even think of gently placing our valathu kaal (right leg) on the golden steps of a literary eternity that beckoned us! 😋

Well, back then, our lovely HEL was just Rs.50/-

And guess what...! This evening, just out of sheer curiosity, I looked up the price of Hudson’s HEL, and to my little surprise, I find the price hiked by at least four times – Rs. 194/- at e-tailer Amazon, and that after a 15% discount!

Early mornings were reserved for reading ‘The Hindu’ newspaper! It was priced Rs. 2.30 paise, back then on Saturdays. (Most of us would sure remember the Saturday supplement - Young World & Fun Track that tagged along with The Hindu)

Since it was the beginning of a new academic year, we also decided to enrol - of our own sweet volition – for our basic Hindi classes with the renowned Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, and that, chiefly for four reasons –

Firstly, the Sabha had some real amazing teachers, who made learning Hindi quite a cakewalk and a child’s play for all of us!   

Secondly, we wanted to do some little things that would prove worthy of our stay here in a place far away from home, 😋

Thirdly, it was quite closer to our college,

Fourthly, it proved very economical for us. We had to pay just Rs.250 as fees, (that includes admission fee) for the entire duration of the semester.

[PS: Some names have been blurred, to protect their privacy. Once I get in touch with them and obtain their permission, would gladly ‘unblur’ it for us!]