I wasn't new to this. This had appeared on my feed last year as well and I thought which fool would actually believe this? Who would be dumb enough to actually make the effort to choose a book for a stranger and painstakingly go to the post office and post it? That too for some stranger! 

Also, I was like 36 books? Really? I wondered if people were insane enough to believe that they would actually get 36 books back for sending just 1 book to a person. Gah!!

It was inanity at its best, I thought. A Ponzi scheme with books.

But this year I had a change of heart. Not that I believed that this was all true to the core. I just wanted to check the authenticity of it. Also, the idea of a stranger sending me a book from a different part of the world seemed beautiful. Because giving a book to someone, is like sharing a part of yourself. Your choice of books say a lot about you. It defines you in an exclusive way. So receiving the favourite book of a stranger felt special. As if he trusted me enough to offer me a glimpse of his inner self.

So as this status told me, I copy pasted it on my wall. Just for the sake of trying. In my mind I had decided that I would do my bit, irrespective of whether I got back any or not. At least I would be bringing a smile on someone's face and develop his/her faith on this scheme, to the extent that they would feel obliged to brighten up somebody else's day by sending them a book. The beauty of this exchange program does not lie in the number of books you receive. It lies in the magic of communication, lies in the trust and willingness to share. For me even if I got 1 book back, this scheme would have been successful.

But sadly everyone wasn't of the same opinion. 

When people saw it on my wall, a lot of them said I was stupid to believe this. That this was the idea of some creepy stalker who just wanted to get addresses to eliminate boredom from his life. Some said that this was a Pyramid Scheme and wished that I sat on top of it. One or two blatantly said that it is a scam, another Sarada kando, but with books this time. 

To them I said, why are you putting your heart into it and believing that you will definitely get back 36 books back at all cost? Why can't you just see the beauty of it? Even if you get a couple of books it would be lovely. Besides it doesn't really matter if it doesn't work out. I will have nothing to lose. I just want to check if people endeavour to do it. 

Honestly, this had escaped my mind a couple of days later. But yesterday at noon, I heard the doorbell ring and opened the the door to find a postman hand me a parcel. All the taunts flooded my mind only to be obliterated by happiness when I signed my name and opened the package. A book. 

You know those times when you feel really happy, not like the one where you want to shout out and jump around, but the kind of happiness in whose warmth you revel? I felt that. And at that immediate moment I thought I must let the people in Facebook know about this. Surprisingly when the people who said so much before, had little to say this time. 

I turned the package around to see where it came from, and that was an even bigger surprise. It was sent from Naspur, and on googling Naspur I found that 

'Naspur is a census town in Adilabad district of the Indian state of Telangana.'   

I didn't know the sender's name, so I thanked him as much as I could on my Facebook post. I thanked him for spending his precious time to choose a book, buy it and make the effort to post it to someone living in Kolkata. I thanked him for his loyalty. Not many enthusiasts of this program stick to it. But he did. I thanked him for showing this beautiful gesture of love. 

And sent him a lot of warm wishes from the heart. 

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