India, Oct. 19 -- Many years ago, I had written an article about how cautious and even miserly I have become about lending my books, after having lost three of my most valuable books to friends who did not have the hearts to return them back to me.

When I say that they did not have the hearts to return them, it may seem like I am making an insinuation. Yes, I am and I am doing it because I had clearly told every one of those three friends how precious those books were to me. So, if they had had even the slightest regard for our friendship, they would certainly have returned them to me, with due care and a sense of responsibility.

Although I have already written in my article about what was so unusual about one of those books, I think a ...