Back when we were in college, securing secondhand textbooks and reference guides was viewed as a master task, a highly skilled one. It boiled down to the knowledge of having access to the go-to bookseller, and managing a sweet VFM deal that still left you with some pocket money to sail through the rest of the month. Of course, if you, like this columnist, frequently succumbed to the aromas wafting from the many Udipis that surrounded our college [Ruia], that was hardly ever possible.

At that time, Matunga thrived on student demand-and-supply of all kinds, be it the fancy stationery and fashion outlets, cheap eating addas, Udipi and Irani cafes, and book vendors who catered to students and collectors. With academic books, there were a few prized haunts that became integral to our study patterns. Come exam time and there would be a mad scurry to these last resorts of hope, to help salvage our academic reputations.