Having subscribed to Writers Write Creative Blog Daily Writing Prompt for months and not having really been prompted to write all this while, today I finally break the jinx. And what better prompt to start with than this one?
"Who introduced me to the wonderful world of books?" Ideally, this should date back to the time I really picked up a book and read it from cover to cover; and hence the person who handed me that book. But should it really? How about the people who gave me all those comics and numerous
children's periodicals which I scoured before actually going on to pick up a book in its pure definition? So yes, perhaps the scouring of Champak, Nandan, Chandamama, Chacha Choudhary et al counts as the initiation to books. Let's take it a little further than that to the scores of stories that were read to me as a toddler. The various Sher Singh stories that I made my parents read to me till they were quite sick of them. Those stories which I, as a toddler, couldn't read to save my life but knew exactly where which word was printed in the book - owing, of course, to the hundreds of encores. This makes a strong point in the case, doesn't it? We see the trend of audio books now, but it's not a novel concept really. And it might have been my introduction to the world of books, quite fair and square.
I can almost pick out the date when my father handed me a copy of Enid Blyton's Twins at St. Clare's - the memory is as vivid as it can get. I still have that vintage copy preserved carefully in the safe haven of a book shelf at home. I also remember being reluctant to read it, as it was the first 'boring book without illustrations' that I was given - like the ones my parents used to read. I remember flipping through all pages of the books the elders in the house read, and finding no illustrations branded them as boring in my head. Maybe that's why I even coloured a few with my wax crayons. Anyway, I think reading the Twins at St. Clare's was surely the turning point in my life. I loved the book and there was no looking back from there on.
From a time when I had to be pushed to read a 'non-illustrated' book , I have come to a point where I have run out of space to keep the books I have. No matter when the initiation happened - whether with Sher Singh or with Enid Blyton - I will have my parents to thank for it. For passing on a precious hobby, a rich legacy and a world of happiness.
