HYDERABAD: For Vinod Ekbote, books are not just objects on a shelf but lifelong companions that have quietly shaped his world for four decades.
“A room without books is like a body without a soul” is a statement that fits perfectly into the life of the retired Telangana government employee, who has been collecting books for the past 40 years.
Step into his one-bedroom flat at Nagole, purchased mainly to store books, and every inch of space is lined with shelves. Over the years, Vinod has collected nearly 5,000 books, of which around 3,000 remain with him, while the rest have been shared with friends and relatives. Along with books, he also collects fountain pens and owns nearly 30 vintage pieces.
His collection spans genres such as travel, memoirs, history, geopolitics, humour and books on reading itself. Most of the books are second-hand, with rare finds including The Saddest Pleasure by Moritz Thomsen, Bombay by Vinod Mehta and All About H Hatterr by GV Desani. His favourite authors include Somerset Maugham, Stephen King, Dashiell Hammett, W G Sebald, Arun Joshi, Amitav Ghosh, Ashokamitran and Shashi Deshpande. Among his most cherished books are The Foreigner, The Snow Leopard and Raag Darbari.
Talking to TNIE, the 62-year-old said he began collecting books in 1985 without realising it would turn into a lifelong purpose. “Reading gives me deep satisfaction. It is in my genes, as my father was also passionate about reading,” he said.
Most Sundays find Vinod at the Abids Sunday Book Market. He also visits several second-hand bookstores in Hyderabad and has picked up books from Church Street in Bengaluru and from Delhi.
“I rarely buy new books. Nearly 99% of my collection is second-hand,” he said, adding that rare titles and old classics are often found only in such markets.
A writer at heart, Vinod also collects books on writing and is currently working on a book about his experiences as a collector. He has been maintaining a blog since 2007, where he writes about books he discovers at Abids.