I just finished the book “the 3 mistakes of my life”, by Chetan Bhagat, the 3rd one from the pen of this writer, and it took me 3 days to finish it. Guess the fastest one!! A 200 pager; Rupa publication gripped my attention and occupied my evenings with a bollywoodish, story of a young business man, his friends, his passion and his mistakes!! It was a good read, no high funda stuff and I enjoyed reading it, which I picked in between reading a Khaled Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Sun”, a book with a sorrow story of truth and emotions. It was a nice breather and change in my otherwise stress Sales life.
Books have not been one of my greatest passions, though all through my life, I have been reading, but not passionately though. Unlike my father and my wife, who are passionate readers, me and my mom, has picked up the interest lately.
Like all young boys, my parents instilled a reading habit from my childhood, but I guess, unlike the time when kids of my age indulged in reading passionately, I was more of a crap reader. Comics were my first love, be it an “Amar Chitra Katha”, or “Tintin” or “Astrix”, I have been there done that!! Enid Blyton’s and Hardy Boys was a craze during school, but I never actually got indulged in them, though I admit, I claimed to have read them all when I was in school. Peer pressure I guess ;-)
I read a few of them, but never created an urge to read the first one in school. My first novel which I indulged was “Kane and Abel” a classic story by Jeffrey Archer. I grew up to more to "Comics" and "Feluda", a classic detective series penned by the great Satyajit Ray.
Being in an ICSE board, English and reading Shakespeare, was something which I could not have escaped. I was passionate to the language, and more in the writing part, than reading them all. And I owe it to my mother, as she always inspired and saved for buying me books and novels to read. She being from a Hindi medium, guess had understood the importance of English which shall be a prerequisite to existence in the 21st century’s corporate world.
Next I owe it to my English tutor, who created the passion for the language, and specially writing which I realize it today. He used take tuitions once a week, but made me write 3-4 essays as homework for the week. That’s how; I could put my thoughts in as many words. I cursed him, when I wrote them, but I adore and thank him today.
As I grew to be a management graduate, I read biographies and management books on brands, strategy, self development etc. They inspired me. Be it a Steve Jobs or a Bill Gates, they bought me back to books and reading them bought changes in my thought and attitude towards life and business.
I had almost given up reading fictions, comics though were still a passion, and I found solace in “Dilbert” and “Calvin & Hobbes”. One gave me the insight to the corporate world and other brought back memories of a naughty imaginative kid. I loved them, and I have seen a lot of envy eyes, trying to get hands to my collections on these to comic epics.
Today, I run a busy schedule, and still not a passionate reader, who shall not get up without finishing a book. My attention span to books is still poor. But with inspiration from, Aditi, my wife, and I thank Chetan Bhagat to give me his first two books, I started reading, and today I am also self inspired to write my thoughts in my page we call Blog!!!
I still do not recollect when my compulsion to write became my passion. I used to write, at time diaries, my experiences in college, at times my frustrations, but today I am happy to keep the promise to myself of writing regularly. Not as regular as a celebrity blogger, but when ever I have a thought and wished to type it down (who writes today, thanks to technology!!) I do it!!
A thought just crossed my mind, with my passion for writing and Aditi’s for reading, do we have the fortune to be proud parents of a future “Amitava Ghosh” or “Jhumpa Lahiri”!!
Just a thought!! Amen!!
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