*** Special Feature - October 2016 ***
About the Author:
Namrata is A Lost Wanderer who loves travelling the length and breadth of the world. A published author in various anthologies and magazines she enjoys capturing the magic of life in her words. She is forever in pursuit of a new country and a new story.
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5 books that define my childhood
I was introduced to reading by my mother at the age of four. She always used to tell me that I was a hyperactive kid and she felt books would be a safe option to keep me occupied all day. In doing that she not only passed on her love for books but also ensured I was addicted for life.
During the
summer holidays as we traveled through trains to reach my grandmother’s place
both me and my brother were allotted a budget to buy anything to keep us
entertained throughout the journey. My brother would buy a game and me a book,
obviously. Somehow the book never stayed till the end. I would finish it within
few hours and begin to irk my mother to get me more. Fortunately for me our school had a library
which fueled my passion more and with passage of time I began to ask for books
as gifts on every occasion hence solving this issue completely.
It is said
the books you read define you as a writer but I don’t know if I have traces of
any of the authors I have read till now. I leave it on you, dear readers to
tell me if you think I remind you of any of these. Till then I am sharing with
you the 5 books which were not only my first reads but also ones that define
childhood for me till date.
1. Cindrella – One of the first stories I read apart from
Champak, Tinkle, Chandamama and Archies comics. Needless to say I feel in love
with it. Till date I have read various versions of this story and loved each
one. For me it defines strength and faith. Cindrella was strong and never let
her faith waiver. This remains my most favourite fairy tale till date.
2. Malgudi Days – Thanks to DD National I was introduced to
the master story teller R K Narayan very young. This series led me to reading
all his works and loving each one of them more than the other. His simplicity
along with his unique ability to show the beauty of life amidst the chaos was
what drew me to his writings. He was my favourite author, is and will always
be. The power of simplicity cannot be explained any better than his writings.
They are sheer magic.
3. 20000 leagues under the sea – This is the first book I picked up from my
school library. I faintly remember I was in fifth standard, around 10 years of
age. My classmates were making fun of me for picking such a thick book. I just
smiled at them. There was something about it that fascinated me. I stayed awake
to read the book that night and was enchanted by the world that I visited
through this book.
4. Rebecca
– An absent teacher was what introduced me to this masterpiece. Well, our
science teacher was on leave for about a fortnight and there was a proxy
teacher who came to our class during that period. Unable to handle the noise,
she decided to share with us the story of the book she was reading then.
Gradually I began to look forward to her classes; I wanted to know what happened
next. Years later I finally managed to get a copy of my own of this book. Till
date I have read it a dozen times but every single time the author mesmerizes
me with something new that I had not noticed till now.
5. Nirmala
– We had a chapter from this novel as a part of our curriculum and there was
something immensely powerful about that chapter which made me read this novel
completely. This was not only my first Hindi novel but it also paved way for me
to read more Hindi authors like Manu Bhandari, Amrita Pritam and gradually move
on to other Indian languages like Urdu, Bengali, Tamil etc. Our curriculum was also the place where I was
introduced to Shakespeare and ended up reading his entire collection of work over
a period of time. Some borrowed, some gifted and some hunted his books were my
introduction to a different world altogether.
This list is exhaustive and there are a lot
of books that can be added to it but these 5 are special.
What are your
childhood memories when it comes to reading? Any recommendations for books
which are a must read?
Give life another chance. Laugh a little longer. let go of your past. Hold onto what you love. In short LIVE rather than just exist!
Some told, some untold, some heard and some unheard - this collection of stories will make you look at life in a different light and make you ponder over its definition of it till now.
Book Links:
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Author's choice in books is awesome. Those books are really amazing, even though I have not read all of them.
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