The One Where I Turned A Page

 Hey Folks,

It’s June 19th and its National Reading Day in India. This day is celebrated in honour of Father of India's Library Movement - P.N Panicker. Across the globe, Reading Day is a celebration, just that it differs in dates. Speaking in general, have we lost the essence of reading ? I seldom see kids reading or ranting about their favorite books. Who are to blame? Technology, Parents or Society in general. I seriously don't know. 

I'll take you to the time when I started reading and started loving books in the first place. I guess I was in my class third or fourth. We had library periods in our curriculum, for me and many other friends of mine, it was the period which we used to feel relaxed and the best time for all other extra-curricular activities. The extra-curricular at that time in my terminology was simply sitting and talking of anything under the sun except studies. As I was a social bee( but teachers called me a talkative brat), I was present at every table talking to each one of my classmates, hence I was the restless one and easily noted by my librarian.; Jayashree Ma'am.

Her rule for the library was that each one of us should grab a book and read silently in our allotted chairs( it was basically the long tables we see in Harry Potter Movies). My seat was constantly changed as I used to make ruckus even in the group which was very well reading. I was dead scared of her but still it never stopped me from opening my mouth. So one fine day, she called me and handed me a book and said "Aswathy, there's no point having a book in your hand while you're constantly blabbering. In the next library hour, I want you to tell me the summary of the book I'm going to give you and if you don't, the punishment ,well it will be nothing you would be mildly expecting". I was petrified and ashamed at the same time as everyone was looking of the thunder which happened ( she used to be very very loud).

I took the book with disdain and said to myself; I am not going to give in for such petty threats and I will not read this no matter what. As the day was fast approaching, I started having nightmares but still adamant of not even looking at the book. That's when I saw the summary in nutshell behind the book. I started mugging up the whole thing and became confident of spitting the same out in front of her. The book's name I don't remember but it was about a lost puppy trying to find its way back home. On the course of mugging up I understood that the end of the book isn't mentioned anywhere. As we didn't have Google or Goodreads to look up, the only way I could find out the ending was by reading the entire book.

Reluctantly I opened the book and started reading. I couldn't stop and ended up reading the whole book in one sitting. When she called me up for telling the summary, in front of the whole class I went on and on and on. She was surprised for the fact that I actually read the book! 

And the rest is history, here I've started a blog for discussing about the same books which were once my enemies. I thank her for pushing me to the world of books and for this she will be that someone I will never forget.

Till this date, not once I have shied away from the thought of spending tons of money on books. My dad used to roll his eyes when I used to vehemently push him to empty his pockets for my never-ending love for books (but I think he might be secretly proud of me as well......). 

And for my added happiness, my partner in crime is just as crazy about books. What more can a bookworm wish for..!

For everyone who's reading this, please give your son, daughter, niece, nephew and even the neighbor's kid one small book that they can cherish for. Give them the chance to explore a world of imagination and curiosity. Be the Jayashree I once had in my life.

Tata uh!

Regards,

A.