As far back as I can remember, I have loved stories. I suppose it began in those cozy nights, while I lay next to my dadi orbaba (grandparents) holding their earlobe, gently falling asleep, while they told me stories about the sabz pari (green fairy) or the lakadhaara (woodcutter)and the queen or podna – podni (dwarf couple). Some of these I remember, while only fragments of some others remain now.
This world of stories expanded considerably once I learnt to read. I remember reading anything I could lay my hands on – comics, magazines, books. I remember my mom had loads of old magazines, bundled and tied, kept in her home office and on weekends/ holidays I would just spend my afternoons going through all the stories in those decades-old issues. English and Hindi books were read as soon as we received the book set for the new academic year. Library period in school became one of my favourites – that day of the week most awaited. Too bad we could get only one book for a whole week – because I would often take my book up on our terrace and finish it in a couple of hours.
My mom encouraged our love of reading. Every year on Christmas morning, I would look under my pillow excitedly to find which book ‘Santa’ had left for me! Mom had subscribed both English and Hindi children’s magazines for my sister and I. Nandan, Champak, Balhans, Target to name a few. I remember the race my sister and I would have to our house from the bus stand – eager to get hold of the latest issue of one of these magazines!
We even subscribed to Misha – a dual Russian-English magazine connecting Indian children to those in USSR. That opened a whole new world and gave birth to my fascination with erstwhile USSR. In those days we would have mobile libraries selling books from USSR and I had so many of those – loved disappearing into the world of Russian folk tales!
How Books Shaped Me
I was 9 and in 4th grade when I fell headlong into Enid Blyton’s wonderful world. I chanced upon a ‘Five Findouters Mystery’ while searching my library shelves for mystery books. (I believe my love for mystery began thanks to my dad’s narration of Agatha Christie novels at night – I still remember the skull on the cover of ‘Why Didn’t They Tell Evans’) And while I was too young to read Agatha Christie then (now I have the whole collection with me – well thumbed pages – bought for my husband who loves listening to the stories more than reading them), I must have decided to find mysteries for my age.
I must have read almost all of Enid Blyton’s books (except those for very young children) and loved every world she created. Whether these were adventurous children (Five find outers, Famous Five, Secret Seven, or Roger, Diana and Snubby or Mike, Peggy and the others) or those in boarding schools (Saint Claire’s, Mallory Towers, Naughtiest Girl) or those in the fantasy worlds of the Faraway Tree or the Wishing Chair or Mr. Pinkwhistle – I loved them all. I loved them and I learnt from them. A lot of my values about honesty, kindness, about addressing problems head on, about being fair and just, facing fears, owning up, being an upstander, came from them. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say these books share the credit for my upbringing with my family. Of course, I didn’t like her old-fashioned ideas when the boys would take on the more dangerous activities and girls stayed back – but I attributed that to the era they were written in and chose the values I liked!
Regional books by authors such as Ashapoorna Devi, Ismat Chughtai further developed my gender ideology and books by Ayn Rand (The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged) introduced me to the celebration of individualism, rational self-belief, and the uncompromising pursuit of one’s own vision and shaped my early ideas about ambition, independence, and the courage to follow one’s own convictions.
I learn best through stories – I remember key historic facts and figures thanks to books based in historical periods. Even something as boring as Operations Management can come alive if written as fiction – The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt is testimony to that.
Books have also seemed to drop into my life just when I needed them. My first year of college – first year of living away from home – I encountered the “7 Habits of highly Effective Teenagers”. (I am sure my mom gave it to me at some point). I am sure I was trying to find my feet in a new city, new people, away from home at that time and this book really helped me anchor myself. This was the first (and perhaps the only) self help book I read multiple times and applied its ideas to my life.
In fact I think I can also say that it was a book that convinced me to try and conceive (ha ha ha) – I was pretty terrified of the whole ‘childbirth process’, the pain and all – and then I chanced upon a book at my home (again I am sure left around by my mom) on pregnancy which eased my fears. (I don’t know how – but I do remember thinking it might not be so bad after all – the rest they say is history!)
More recently, Rujuta Diwekar’s books made a lot of sense to me when I was looking to improve my health.
Rediscovering reading these last few years….
Of course as I got busier in life, book reading also slowed. Moreover, once I moved out of India (and in countries where English books are not easily available) it became more difficult to buy physical books. I had somehow avoided Kindle because nothing came close to the touch and feel of a physical book, the grainy texture of the pages.
But 3-4 years ago, I ended up joining some book clubs – physical as well as on Whatsapp. Those were game changers for me. Each of these book clubs had a very different membership and the suggestions I received were wide in scope. I finally started reading on my phone – while eating, or during a short break or just before bed time. I have ended up reading hundreds of books in these last couple years – sadly didn’t keep a list but there so many that have stayed with me. All the light We cannot see (The web series is nice but does not hold a candle to the book); 7 moons of Mali Almeida (totally shook me); Mother Mary Comes To Me (devoured it, now need to re-read slowly once more); The Nightingale (gritty and touching); The Architect’s Apprentice (spellbound and now look at Istanbul from Mimar Sinan’s perspective); Thursday Murder Club Series (relived my Agatha Christies and don’t watch the movie); all of Clare Pooley’s books (light, fun and heartening); Lessons in Chemistry (just loved it)…. The list can go on…..
And my heartfelt thanks to each of my book clubs and their members for introducing me to a much bigger and wider world than I would have found on my own.
And doing some writing of my own
My mom always wanted me to write but I was content writing project reports and analysis, till one day I started my blog. And then it seemed that the words wouldn’t stop. It has been eight years now and while it is not easy to maintain the blog regularly given I have a busy full time job and a household with three boys – but this is a personal promise to myself – my real me time. Thanks to this, I also ended up publishing a book – “Raising Capable Children” with my thoughts on parenting and one more in the works (for the last 3 years alas…)
But I am glad I am writing – I guess it is also a tribute to my genes – both my grandmothers wrote – one used to publish a magazine, the other had books and novels to her name. My grandfather write books that are still part of university curriculum. My uncle wrote books and so did my dad. And one of my aunts Vandana Jena is a prolific writer – with multiple books and short story collections to her name. Do read her latest books – if you love short stories with a twist.
Passing on the legacy
I am sure it is obvious by now that I can easily be categorized as a bookworm. One oft repeated memory from my childhood is adults telling me not to read while eating. I remember once my grandparents moved away my plate while I was reading and went into peels of laughter when I started looking for my plate with my hand while continuing to read :-D. But that’s one habit I never abandoned, much to the annoyance of my spouse as well!
So imagine my horror one day when I saw my first born – who had still not learnt how to read, eating on the table, holding a book upside down (and ostensibly reading it) ! Oh My God – my husband will kill me I thought! Arnav has started to copy me!!!
Aah well – but just as surely as I passed on my myopic genes to the boys, I also passed on my love for books. Arnav became a voracious reader soon after he turned 5 and Abeer is currently obsessed with reading all the Harry Potters and drives me totally mad reading on the dining table while his food lays untouched. (I am not being a hypocrite here – I always ATE while reading!) Even Anvay who can’t read absolutely loves books and will happily snatch Abeer’s book if he doesn’t have his own!
But I am not complaining. Ultimately for me books are doorways to other lives, other worlds where I can live multiple lives, feel a sea of emotions, experience different times, ideologies and geographies. Each book I have read has stayed within me, each character shaping some bit of me.
This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla
This post is also a part of ‘Plot Twist Blog Hop’ hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed under #EveryConversationMatters blog hop series”
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Regards, Sakshi aka tripleamommy
You can find me at:
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Do consider buying my book “Raising Capable Children” that shares hundreds of tips and ideas on bringing up confident children. See below for buying options.
India – Amazon: https://amzn.to/3j3QSrx ; Flipkart: https://www.flipkart.com/raising-capable-children/p/itm2134c13e7108f?pid=9789390267033; FirstCry: https://www.firstcry.com/StoryMirror/StoryMirror-Raising-Capable-Children-English/8472753/product-detail?q=as_raising%20capable%20children
For US and UK- https://www.amazon.com/dp/939026703X ; https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/939026703X