Today's Beautiful Gem: "Bookmark" by Saint Teresa, 
translated by H. W. Longfellow

        I like book shops, particularly those that sell old and used books! 
The atmosphere therein is alwyas interesting. The sight of old binding 
and the smell of old paper (no pun intended) is breath-taking! I 
sometimes feel that the air is filled with the spirit of authors who left 
this mortal world long ago leaving behind them their immortal opuses. It 
is my habit to buy books when I visit new places. Thus, Seattle is 
marked by the bigraphy of Vinoba, Paris by the book 'Symmetrie aujourdui', 
Charlottsville by a book of poems translated by Bly and others, etc. The 
culture of a nation or a people can best be gauged not only by the books 
written by its authors, but also by the type of books being read by the 
common folk as well as the scholars. Wherever you have books, you also 
have bookmarks. Here is one. Keep it and use it!

Om shaantiH Peace! - J. K. Mohana Rao

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