“When I was still in school, one of my teachers always used to tell me he believed in me and that I would get great results. I always had mediocre grades till one day when I got a brilliant result. I went to him and told him it was all because of the encouragement he gave me. He turned to me, smiled and said, no, it is not.

“He said he tells every student that and only the students who start believing in themselves and work hard get results. What he said has stuck with me. We all need encouragement. So, when I opened this book stall, I started writing encouraging quotes to my sellers. I just write them on a sticky note and stick them on the books they have bought while ringing up the order. You never know who you may inspire to change their lives for the better. Maybe someone needs encouragement for following their dreams.

Making a living related with reading and books was my dream. My family is in the garments business, but I did not want that. When I was young, my father would take me to the Sunday book bazaar in Rawalpindi. It was fascinating. So many books, so many stories and thoughts to discover. Sometimes, I would buy books I was not even old enough to understand. More often than not, they would be good quality foreign books with excellent illustrations and printing. It was like the words were struggling against the pages, urging you to read them. I have collected books since. And now, I get to be with books all the time.”

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2019