I Learned A Lesson / myLot

India

March 11, 2025 9:30am CST

I love reading. I have a home library of my own. It consists of around 200 books most of which are in Hindi. One of my former teachers borrowed a Hindi novel from me. It was based on the life of one of the greatest poets;Goswami Tulsidas. He said he would return it to me after 4-5 days. But more than 15 days passed. He did not return the book to me. I was worried about the book and could not understand what to do. He was my teacher and I respected him. One day I lost my patience and asked him if he had finished the book. He said he had read the book and that it was really a great novel. After that he told me that one of his friends had borrowed the book from him. I asked him his friend's address. I managed to meet his friend and asked him for the book. He also praised the novel and told me he had lent it to another man who was his friend. That man's house was in a village. I was shocked. How could one lend my book to someone else without my permission !! It took me more than 15 days to get my book back. The book was in a precarious condition. I had to get it repaired. That day I took a resolve that I would never lend my book to anybody in future. .

7 people like this

7 responses

@DaddyEvil (144097)

• United States

11 Mar

I used to lend my books to friends, too, until one of them didn't return my book. He claimed his dog ate it. That was the end of me lending any books to friends. I can't imagine how libraries keep lending books when other people don't respect the property of others.

3 people like this

jaishankar

@Shivram59 (39967)

• India

11 Mar

That's a different matter. If you don't return the book you have borrowed from a library; you would have to pay its price. My teacher is no more; but before taking his last breath he taught the most valuable lesson.

1 person likes this

Xavier Bage

@franxav (14043)

• India

11 Mar

That's unbelievable that his dog ate up the book !

1 person likes this

@DaddyEvil (144097)

• United States

11 Mar

@Shivram59 Libraries here try to make you pay but if you don't have any money, then there's nothing they can do. We read stories all the time about somebody finding a book they "lost" years before finding it and giving it back to the library.

How do you lose a book for years is my question... People are strange.

1 person likes this

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Ptrikha_2

@ptrikha_2 (47586)

• India

11 Mar

That is a very very bad experience! The biggest mistake is of your former teacher. Nobody has the right to give a lend book (or any other stuff) forward. A harsh lesson indeed, but in reality sometimes ine cannot refuse lending in some cases due to "societal" norms !

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Ptrikha_2

@ptrikha_2 (47586)

• India

13 Mar

@Shivram59 Lending money & books is almost always a tricky bit and always something that is better avoidable.

1 person likes this

jaishankar

@Shivram59 (39967)

• India

11 Mar

I agree.My teacher should have a commonsense.He lent my book to his friend who further lent it to another person. It was disgusting. Due to society norms I could not say anything to my teacher; but the book was almost destroyed. If I had not get it repaired; I would have to buy a new copy. And at the root of it all was my teacher's lack of commonsense.

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Ptrikha_2

@ptrikha_2 (47586)

• India

13 Mar

@Shivram59 We had a money case. When we were bachelors and two of us sharing a rented place, a friend of our friend came for an informal get together. After the meet, others left but he remained. We thought that he might stay for a couple of days but he stayed for almost more than a month. He was looking for a job but we also had limited income and managing expenses. He never talked about sharing in rent or any other expenses. So finally we had to talk to him. He initially gave us INR 1100 or some similar figure. Yet after that, and when he had got a job also, he refused to pay the rest of the amount. So I think at times, we ought to be blunt and straight forward rather than trying to fulfill social and ethical norms.

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MomfromOz06

@MNRFOLEY (478)

• Brisbane, Australia

14 Mar

I can completely understand how you must have felt. Your belongings are personal and it's important that other people respect that. It's good to set boundaries and communicate how you feel.

1 person likes this

jaishankar

@Shivram59 (39967)

• India

14 Mar

I did not say him anything. It took me days to get my book back. Now he ( my teacher ) is no more.He had taught me many subjects along with what not to do with someone's belongings. He had no right to lend my book to anybody else without my permission. Thanks for responding; my friend.