Love for books – Life…!!! It goes on…

Taar taar up pa..!

(Star.. Star..! Up there! )

My LO was pointing upwards to the (imaginary) star. He loves the rhyme “Twinkle Twinkle little star” and the line “Up above the world so high” is his favourite.

“up pa… up pa..”

We had bought him a pack of radium stars for his room ceiling and it was lying idle in the shelf. I thought its high time to decorate his room with those stars. He was super excited and kept telling “taar taar” all the time until I finished.

It was getting dark outside. I pulled the curtains and closed the door. I felt a gush of happiness when I saw the stars above. It was stunning. My LO who was shouting suddenly lowered his voice to a whisper. He sat down and started admiring its beauty and I was moved.

I left him there and checked out the sky. It was a clear, no moon night with stars. I switched off all the lights and took him out to the balcony. It was dark and I pointed the real stars to him. He was still whispering “taar”. We both sat there for a while and I was lost in thought.

My childhood memories came flooding back. Those unwarranted power cuts, lying flat on the terrace gazing at the stars with my brother, pointing out all the constellations we knew and the quiet time we got. No worries except for the next day’s homework or the class test. The memory of Hale-Bopp and the enthusiasm we had in learning about planets, comets and meteorites is just awesome.

I wondered when was the last time I quietly admired nature and got immersed in its beauty. I grew up in Hosur, which is known for its pleasant climate. I remember those rainy days when I used to sit on a divan near the window with a book. Reading the book while listening to the subtle sound of raindrops outside is such a great feeling that can’t be expressed in words. I remember reading the novel, “His Name Was Not Listed” by Boris Vassilyev on one such beautiful rainy day. It’s still close to my heart.

As we grow older, the commitments and responsibilities are so overwhelming that we fail/forget/miss to look at nature through a child’s eyes. Childhood days are always the best. We need to create an environment where our children get an opportunity to experience and admire nature.

Still sitting in the dark, I found my LO sitting quiet. I wondered if he fell asleep. To my surprise, he smiled at me. It was a calm and serene smile.

** LO – My Little One – My baby

I saw my mom dusting ‘n’ number of books and putting them back on the shelves. I heard her complaining about the value of ‘n’ increasing year by year. I picked up those heavy, hard-bound books one by one and flipped through the pages. There were very few pictures and it didn’t seem attractive to Me, then a student in third grade.

She stopped to rest for a while. I sat beside her and she asked me to read the book. I tried reading it but never understood. The book didn’t have any good pictures and the letters were very small to read. For some time I pretended reading and when my mom left the place, I started searching for a book with big, bold letters and good pictures. I found a small book “Oliver Twist” by “Charles Dickens” and the publishers “S. Chand & Company”. In the first page of the book, it was mentioned “Easy English”. I was very happy and decided it’s for me..!!

I hid the book under my pillow and slept. The next day, I completely forgot about the book as I was busy fighting with my brother for my turn to ride our bicycle. We fought and got nice thrashings from my mom. I went back to my bed.. to cry. Just then I remembered “Oliver Twist”.

I was not sure I would understand but the word “Easy English” was encouraging. I started reading and within few minutes I was deep into it. Oliver was selected by his friends to ask for some more gruel. “Please sir, I want some more”, frightened Oliver asked Mr. Bumble.

My brother peeked into the room and finding me with the book, started teasing me. Bumble beat Oliver, Amy* beat Anna, Anna beat Amy.. Oliver cried, Amy cried 😦

So that was how I started reading novels. After finishing the book, I continued reading other novels like “A Tale of Two Cities”, “David Copperfield”, “Jane Eyre” and “Great Expectations” and many other books—all in easy English 🙂 until I got promoted to the seventh grade.