I love my parallel universe. Since childhood I have loved travelling there. Don't get me wrong guys. The parallel universe I am talking about is books. Nowadays I don't read much, But trust me.. reading a book is no less than travelling or rather time travelling. May be some day time travel would be a reality, till then books would suffice.
As a kid I used to be crazy about reading story books. My brother used to go to an ICSE school. The best part about the ICSE board is their language books. For each class there used to be at least 2-3 books for literature. So, when my brother's books set used to arrive home. I literally used to pounce on them. I would sift through the set and get hold of my targets. One at a time. Once in my hand, I would just immerse myself in the book. I don't know where am i sitting; whether am I hungry. It would feel like there is nothing around me. Just leave me alone in this parallel universe.
As I grew old, the content I read changed. I moved on from short stories and comics to full fledged novels. Started reading Hindi and later on Marathi as well. Reading a novel is an interesting experience. It is a journey. Journey in the sense that you start with the characters, you bond with them... progress with them. Its like you are being the witness of all those character's lives. On a number of occasions, I have cried like anything; while reading a novel. It gets so intense at times. All credit to the awesome writers that they captivate the readers so successfully.
It's not just the characters that are captivating but also the time and geography. Imagine you are reading something set in the Victorian era in a distant country. You not only understand your characters but also come to know about the social structure of that time and the interdependence of all the factors. That is why reading is considered as a travel beyond time. One moment you are at the Baker's street standing beside Sherlock Holmes and the other moment you realize that you are on your bed at home.
There came a time when I thought I am not able to read much until I got hold of "A tale of 2 cities". Well I got this book in my college library and was suppose to return it in 2 weeks time. But due to assignments and stuff was not able to read much. Just before the day of returning the book, I decided I am not going to return it without reading. So there I was... Done with the day's chorus, I started reading it and kept reading on. It was 4 in the morning when I finally finished reading the book. I was happy that I still had that drive for reading.
Till date this novel is my all time favorite. Sydney Carton made me weep like anything. I could write an entire blog post about this novel. But some other day. If you regularly read books you would know that you get a hangover once you finish reading a book which would typically last for 2-3 days. This duration may vary as per the genre of book and how well you connected to it. For me reading novels/books is not a task.. it is something I love to do, something I am never tired of, something for which I could wake up early. Something which tells me that no matter what is happening in the routine, there is one thing which still drives me nuts. I think I have inherited this passion for reading from my Mom and Grandma. They could really give a tough competition to anyone. Seeing them read is a treat for me. It's like a reminder, this is where it comes from. It's all in the genes.
While in high school, we had a book in Hindi by the name "Jwalamukhi k phool". I just opened the book and went through few lines and found it boring, so kept it aside. One fine day I thought of giving it a shot and started reading. I must have started reading in the afternoon. To my surprise, the book turned out to be really interesting and I was simply not ready to keep down the book. I was called for having dinner which I just gulped down. I was told to sleep but still I was not ready to keep the book down. Only when I finished it did i go to sleep.
I really felt guilty for judging the book by it's cover or in this case by it's title. That is why they say never judge a book by it's cover. This makes me realize that we are all guilty of this crime. We tend to be judgemental. Be it books or people. Books are judged by their cover and people on various never ending parameters. We tend to form opinions about people and hence may miss out on having amazing interactions. So, if you want to read good books and build healthy relationships with people; don't go by their appearances, look beyond the cover. Maybe something interesting awaits you.
As a kid I used to be crazy about reading story books. My brother used to go to an ICSE school. The best part about the ICSE board is their language books. For each class there used to be at least 2-3 books for literature. So, when my brother's books set used to arrive home. I literally used to pounce on them. I would sift through the set and get hold of my targets. One at a time. Once in my hand, I would just immerse myself in the book. I don't know where am i sitting; whether am I hungry. It would feel like there is nothing around me. Just leave me alone in this parallel universe.
As I grew old, the content I read changed. I moved on from short stories and comics to full fledged novels. Started reading Hindi and later on Marathi as well. Reading a novel is an interesting experience. It is a journey. Journey in the sense that you start with the characters, you bond with them... progress with them. Its like you are being the witness of all those character's lives. On a number of occasions, I have cried like anything; while reading a novel. It gets so intense at times. All credit to the awesome writers that they captivate the readers so successfully.
It's not just the characters that are captivating but also the time and geography. Imagine you are reading something set in the Victorian era in a distant country. You not only understand your characters but also come to know about the social structure of that time and the interdependence of all the factors. That is why reading is considered as a travel beyond time. One moment you are at the Baker's street standing beside Sherlock Holmes and the other moment you realize that you are on your bed at home.
There came a time when I thought I am not able to read much until I got hold of "A tale of 2 cities". Well I got this book in my college library and was suppose to return it in 2 weeks time. But due to assignments and stuff was not able to read much. Just before the day of returning the book, I decided I am not going to return it without reading. So there I was... Done with the day's chorus, I started reading it and kept reading on. It was 4 in the morning when I finally finished reading the book. I was happy that I still had that drive for reading.
Till date this novel is my all time favorite. Sydney Carton made me weep like anything. I could write an entire blog post about this novel. But some other day. If you regularly read books you would know that you get a hangover once you finish reading a book which would typically last for 2-3 days. This duration may vary as per the genre of book and how well you connected to it. For me reading novels/books is not a task.. it is something I love to do, something I am never tired of, something for which I could wake up early. Something which tells me that no matter what is happening in the routine, there is one thing which still drives me nuts. I think I have inherited this passion for reading from my Mom and Grandma. They could really give a tough competition to anyone. Seeing them read is a treat for me. It's like a reminder, this is where it comes from. It's all in the genes.
While in high school, we had a book in Hindi by the name "Jwalamukhi k phool". I just opened the book and went through few lines and found it boring, so kept it aside. One fine day I thought of giving it a shot and started reading. I must have started reading in the afternoon. To my surprise, the book turned out to be really interesting and I was simply not ready to keep down the book. I was called for having dinner which I just gulped down. I was told to sleep but still I was not ready to keep the book down. Only when I finished it did i go to sleep.
I really felt guilty for judging the book by it's cover or in this case by it's title. That is why they say never judge a book by it's cover. This makes me realize that we are all guilty of this crime. We tend to be judgemental. Be it books or people. Books are judged by their cover and people on various never ending parameters. We tend to form opinions about people and hence may miss out on having amazing interactions. So, if you want to read good books and build healthy relationships with people; don't go by their appearances, look beyond the cover. Maybe something interesting awaits you.
