Golden Days

Books, books and more books, I grew up with books. Every birthday my Mom and Dad used to gift me a book. Picture books, puzzle books even illustrated Bibles – wrapped in translucent cellophane paper. I would unwrap the gift the moment I received it and usually, would finish reading the book in one sitting. Almost well into my college years, this was a tradition that played out in all solemnity on the 16^th of January every year. The beautiful handwritten note of my Dad that adorned the first page of those adorable books made it even more valuable.

I remember going to CLS book shop with my parents to select this particular book for my 9^th birthday. CLS in those days was a treasure trove of great books. After Higginbotham’s and the incredible Moore market, CLS used to be my go-to book store. It stocked several wonderful books – not just related to Christian faith, but several titles for children.

Later years, I would plunder the local lending library in our then quiet neighbourhood in Anna Nagar. Soon I moved on from reading Enid Blyton to Alistair Maclean, Robert Ludlum and other masters of pulp-fiction like Sidney Sheldon and Fredrick Forsyth.

As far as the classics are concerned, I did not have to worry. Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte and even Shakespeare – I read them all. Of course, as literature student, I had these works of art as text-books! So, throughout college, it was one extended session of reading…all books, all genres all the time.

During holidays, when we went out as a family to relative’s places – if I found books there, would forget everything and curl up with my favourite book. For me getting lost in my own world of fantasy was thousand times better than going to the beach with boisterous cousins.

Time flew.. and I had moved away from my world of books. Maybe growing up to the grim realities of life, made me look at those glossy “all is well that ends well’ type of books with disbelief. 

In January 2017, as I crossed my 50^th year, I made a resolution that I will read more books. Downloaded some reading apps on my mobile phone this month and already started adding titles to my virtual library. These byte-size e-books are mainly trivia thought up by aspiring writers and typed out on their iPads. 

As I ‘swipe’ my way through the pages on my mobile phone screen, I sorely miss those innocent books and the starry eyed wonder of that very true world of Famous Five or Noddy’s Toyland.

As I thumb through the pages of the moth-eaten pages of, “Golden Days” story book I had received in 1975, I could see that the first page -with my Dad’s inscription on it had miraculously survived the ravages of time. Even the cover of this hard-bound had faded.  But, the memories ...they are still as fresh as my dad’s handwriting.

Thank you Amma and Appa for the gift of those Golden Days.