Growing up reading fairytales was my favourite past time. The last time I read a fairy tale was when I was looking through my old books and came across some beautifully illustrated ones. They had been carefully stored away by my grandparents. And they were the ones I was looking for. Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Snow white and the Seven Dwarfa, Thumbelina, Rapunzel,The tale of Three Pigs..all were there. All in all there were 12 books. It was such a treat. Going through them all. I just cannot wait to read all these to my baby girl I thought. Theyre magical. I wonder if she is going to have the same imagination that I had when she grows up? Or will hers richer, more vibrant and more daring?
When I was small I dint dare to be the Hero in a story. I was a girl so naturally I was the princess. I did feel like playing with ji i joe's once in awhile..but mostly I would stick to them Barbies. I would play with my soft toys and blonde barbie doll in my grandparents garden. As I grew up I learnt to play hide n seek, hopscotch, catch catch as well. Playing Enid Blytons Famous Five was also one of the favourite pasttimes. Pretending to hide in caves and solve mysteries was so much fun. The huge wall separating the garden from the hill nearby would always serve as a great hideout. Kings and Queens owning Castles and dungeons and moats were a favourite play amongnst us. Alot of my childhood was sunshine and cookies.
There was Shakespeares Merchant of Venice which left me with memories of the time my Parsi English teacher would teach it so animatedly to us. We all had to fall in love with Shakespeare.
Then a little further down the line it was Harry Potter all the way.That feeling of being in a castle for a school, and that too with your friends, just reminded me of my boarding school days. Which were the happiest days of my life. Harry Potters magical world was too magical to be true. But still I could relate to it as we had a similar long dining hall, dormitories, common room, sports ground. My school was more than a 100 years old and surrounded by trees in the lap of nature.I did make some best friends too just like Harry Potter teaches you to believe in miracles and magic..it also gives lessons on the importance of bravery and friendship.
Then there was a phase even later on in life of Dan Browns books which were intriguing and fast paced..dark and compelling....Chetan Bhagats books which got me back to my roots that is India and its traditional ways of looking at marriages with 2 States..Nicholas Sparks was amazing with "The Notebook", "The Lucky One"and then theres recently that Ive started with the Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathi (The Secret of the Nagas was a great read after a long long time) which has made me fall in love with Lord Shiva and Lady Satis love story which trancends beyond not only the himalayas but beyond the ages. Reading about the fantastic mountain ranges, the rivers, the Ganges and the Saraswati, the simple life and beauty of that time made me envy it as I wished I had been born in that time.
Now that I have thought about the books that shaped me while growing up..I just think of my baby and wonder what memories of her childhood she would have when she grows up. Hoping that she too finds inspiration all around her as I did. Some find it through travelling, some through meditation and I found it by way of the books Ive read. I hope she too inculcates the habit of reading in her or atleast that I am able to do so.. And one day.... Maybe she might dream of becoming the Hero unlike I did.
