Once upon a time, a noble king devoted to Lord Shiva sought divine blessings. He came up with an idea—he ordered everyone in his kingdom to fill the jaladhari, a perforated vessel hanging over the Shiva Linga, with milk. The king believed that if the jaladhari overflowed, Lord Shiva would bless the entire land. However, Read more…

It was the month of July. I was travelling from Jaipur, Rajasthan to Chennai for an international cultural integration camp by train. The train journey usually took three days and four nights. As most Indians would agree, spending three days in a sleeper coach of Indian Railways is no mean feat. To add to your Read more…

Kapila forest had long been a hideout for bandits. However, it was necessary to pass the forest to reach the nearby Rajgadh village. One evening, when Gopu was travelling through the forest, a man leaped out of the bushes, startling Gopu. He claimed to be a porter, who was going towards the village. He insisted Read more…

I would describe myself as a reader in one sentence: “Do not leave me unsupervised in a bookstore.” I started reading books when I was nearly 8 years old. Once there arrived a ship full of books in the port near my home. I visited it with my elder sister. I was utterly awed to Read more…

Coming from a small town, studying in a state-board school and choosing the science stream for my high-school life (yep, checking all the boxes for an engineering career), I was told that I was supposed to be reading every day. And read I did. I read my textbooks, every single day. For all its benefits, Read more…

Being the only child, I was at the classic disadvantage of having plenty of time without any significant company. However, perhaps those are the situations when the clichéd statement about books being our best friends start making (more) sense. My love affair with books started from the curriculum textbooks of the G.S.E.B. (Gujarat Secondary and Read more…