I love reading books. And better still, sitting at a Bookstore like Oxford, comfortably couched, perusing through any and every book that I can lay my hands on! I remember when I was in the PGW Hostel, Delhi University, whenever I would bored, I would just pick up my bag, take the Metro and get off at the Barakhamba Road Oxford Bookstore, spend a good 3-4 hrs, feasting myself on all the wonderful (and mostly terribly expensive books) that they had on display! My most relaxed moments found fruition here. And sometimes I miss that here in Patna. Though there are some good bookstores here, but nothing quite like it.

But even more than reading, I love buying books! I don't know why, but it just gives me a different high to spend a bomb on them. Somehow, none of the books you ever want to buy come cheap..the pricetags good enough to deter even the most avid of readers! But my book store guy has seen through me now, he just plays on my weakness! He knows I can't resist the temptation of buying a good book when I see one (and more importantly, when I have enough dough in my pocket, which is a rarity actually!). And so, he will always, always come with his standard line, "Nupur, here is another book that you might like to read!" And as expected, I end up buying much more than what I had intended to! But, books are an investment, and I dont mind spending on something good.
Then, there is the thrill of imprinting your name on it. I simply love writing my name on the books that I buy, accompanied by the date I bought it on. I know, when I get old, these are the small things that will bring a smile to my face.

The News these days is ablaze with cyber crimes, and more alarmingly, crimes that were hatched on the Net, and executed in blood. We aren’t ignorant of the unfortunate murders that have recently come to light…all hatched on public sites like Orkut and the like. And this has left the air impregnated with questions, questions that billions of us Net users should be able to answer best.

The issue that seems to be doing the round these days is whether Orkut should be banned or not, for it encourages, many argue, clandestine illegal activities with many unsuspecting, apparently adventurous youngsters falling prey to the lure of the Unknown. The Unknown that has proved to be the nadir of many of us who are regulars at this site.

As for me, I don’t see the logic behind the argument…..why should it be banned? And even if it is, will that serve the purpose that we are looking at? I think not.

You can police activities and behaviour, but you can never, ever police the Mind. For that is something that we must be careful with ourselves. I feel it is our responsibility as to who we talk to, how much we divulge about ourselves. Making chat friends is common, but we must know where to draw the line. I am an adult, and no amount of external control on me, no amount of restrictions can leash me from doing something that I wish to do. And all said and done, I refuse to believe that the internet user of today does not know of the hazards that anonymous interaction carries with it. Do I bother to tell vivid details about myself to someone walking on the road? No, I don’t. I don’t, because I don’t know him, and therefore I don’t trust him. If I can’t bring myself to trust somebody standing right in front of me, body and soul, would it not be stupid of me to blindly believe a mere collection of letters, letters that portend to be a name, an identity?

Are sites like Orkut the real problem, or are they just what the real problem comes clothed in? Agreed, the internet is capable of misleading us, but only if we stretch our hands to it, offering ourselves to be devoured.

We just need to be responsible, not to anyone else, but to ourselves.