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Of Books and Beyond

She is an 84 years old happily unmarried woman, retired Maths teacher and principal by profession, igniting the young minds by her virtues and leading a life in her own terms with a charismatic aura. She starts her day with a hot cup of red tea and a round of Sudoku, she solves it like a pro. We are best of friends in spite of the age gap and talk over phone every other day about different topics starting from how our days went, sports, politics, family, food etc. to name a few, but yesterday was something special. I always insist people to cut-off their screen time and start reading books, I have no idea how she listened to my heart and without me uttering a word, she started discussing about the many books she has read by different Assamese, English and Bengali authors and the one she is currently reading. 

I was taken aback and had a flashback of memories of 20 years ago. I picked up that yellow and withered copy of “The Famous Five” and “The Secret Seven” by Enid Blyton from the shelf of my school library and that is when it all started. After that I constantly found myself picking one book after another from different genres because it took me to a wonderland of magical castles, enigmatic forests and shimmering oceans. 



After few years, my perception changed and I started seeing non-academic books as an escape from reality. Reading those few yellow pages after fifty pages of mathematics and science made me feel happy. Those few pages made me dream of a better happier world. Hopping to the present time, which is contradictory to the previous version of me, now I read books because they tether me to reality. I have realised that all books are relatable in one way or the other- some show you glimpse of your own life, some motivates you to the core, some show you the real face of the society and some reminds you of someone special. 




The most overwhelming moment for me was, when that 84 years old lady asked to borrow one book from me as she is very keen to read it, which is “Wings of Fire” an autobiography by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. I could feel tears of joy making its way through my eyes as it was a moment of both happiness and pride for being her grand-daughter. Yes, she is my grand-mom, Ms. Chitra Choudhury.


In today’s world where shoes are sold inside AC showrooms and books are sold in footpath, this desire of her made my day, being a bookworm myself. I get mocked quite often because of being an old-school girl and always finding my peace in books. But it never got on my nerves as reading is not only my hobby, it holds different meaning to different people, but for me books are my meditation, my escape, my passion, my world. It calms my mind and I found that it is the Forever Love of my life and it remains my only constant. And now I got to know, it’s in my genes too. Tomorrow she will get a surprise, as a brand new “Wings of Fire” will be at her doorstep, a gesture of love from me and to thank her for passing on such a legacy.

I feel lucky to be raised in a household where am surrounded by books constantly, so, I can jabber on about books, but I won’t. Instead, I will urge you to start reading because they are truly your best friend and they will make your world better. 

Hence, READ!


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