It was fun to be in Borders again after three years. I used to spend regularly 6-7 hours in Borders during my last visit to US. As Anand goes early morning to his office, I got ready by 7AM.

Anand took me first to his new office, where I could see the unique transformation in workplace design. Anand can sit anywhere he likes. He docks his laptop, goes on line with the rest of the world. He can make any telephone his own with a simple programme, as it is an Internet-based telephone. For privacy, there are small rooms with thick glass doors. For presentation to larger group, there are halls that can be reconfigured fast as per the requirement. Toilets are eco-friendly with no water.

I had to spend half hour in Wal-Mart waiting for Borders to open at 9AM. As usual, I kept on looking at the tags giving the country of manufacture. One Wal-Mart is giving jobs for millions world over. Before entering Borders, I was afraid if it would keep me busy for 7-8 hours that will take Anand to come for picking me again. However, pretty soon I got busy and never realized the time flying. The latest journals of my interest such as the issues of Harvard Business Review, Scientific American, Popular Science, Forbes, and Fortune kept me engaged. Among the books, I glanced through the racks on ‘History’ related to India. It showcased the latest books on India including ‘India Express’ by Daniel Lak. I went through its chapter on ‘Educating India: Then and Now’. Lak has written about IIT-Kharagpur, Boddha Gaya, Rajgrih and Nalanda through Patna. I didn’t find Lak doing a good job. He hadn’t planned his trip well. Other books that I managed to look through were ‘The World is Curved’ by David M Smick. Chapter ‘Tiny Soprano Rides the Chinese Dragon’ dealing with China’s role in global economy was interesting. China appears to have awed American intellectuals and thinkers somewhere.

I have a tip for booklovers. One can use Borders or Barnes &Noble to glance through the books. If you find some interesting ones, you can buy it at just nominal cost of transportation through Amazon. For ‘Made in China’ by Donald N. Sull, I paid only $4.24.

This is one thing that I miss in Noida. Why can’t Amazon, Borders or Barnes and Noble start its operation in India? With a number of bookshops now in Sector 18, and in the malls-Wave and Great India Place, Noida appears to be a place of book lovers.