My love affair with books started at a very young age. Even when the other kids went out to play, I would find myself completely engrossed in one book or the other. I still remember my grandparents telling me a fable every afternoon to put me to sleep. At night, my mother would gleefully read 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…

It is often said that books are a person’s friends, philosophers and guides. This could not have been any truer in my case. Be it the childhood days spent honing my English-language skills or those attempts at filling my inner void, books were with me through thick and thin. That said, the one instance that Read more…

I always had a thing for academic books. Over time, I also began reading romance novels, making fiction a part of my reading routine. This was a paradigm shift in my viewpoint, for I used to believe that only theoretical books had the potential to shape our thoughts and personality. Reading romantic and inspirational books, Read more…

I still remember the day as if it were yesterday. I was in grade two, trying to convince my mother to let me watch Aladdin before completing my homework. And as any 90’s kid would tell you, missing an episode of Aladdin was a big deal back then! Unless I managed to complete my homework Read more…

Most people complain that they are lonely or that they experience frequent bouts of boredom. They cannot understand how to freshen up their minds. But what they actually need to freshen up are their thoughts, by adding more information to their mental hard disks. And believe me when I say this, nothing can do this Read more…

Even by the lofty standards of teenage life, I was as rebellious and mischievous as one could possibly be. To put it bluntly, I was an out-and-out brat. Maybe I still am. As my mother would often say, I was like a raccoon: carefree, lazy and mischievous, yet remarkably smart and strong. I was terribly Read more…

By the age of twelve, I had already read a decent number of children’s classics and novels. Later that year, my paternal grandmother passed away, leaving their 22-year-old home empty. I had never been very close to my grandparents, so snooping around the house and rummaging through their stuff was out of question. Now, both Read more…

I have always enjoyed a good story and thanked my lucky stars I was born in a family of avid readers and wonderful storytellers. In fact, even before I had learned to read on my own, my mum would read me captivating fairy tales and Assamese folklore every afternoon. My dad would take over in Read more…

“Wait a minute, Solomon. I’ve got something for you,” these were the words of Dwarka ammachi, or grandma. She was the eldest and the most pious person in our local church. The eighth grader me surmised that it was some wonderful present or a savory delicacy, or that she was perhaps in need of some Read more…