my first love

When I was 7 years old we moved back to dgp from mas. My dad was doing his phd at iitm and we were there for about 3 years.

It must have been Aug-Sep when we reached dgp. Having lived there before, had very vague memories. While in mas, I learned Tamil. Speaking only. Writing - I was a disappointment to my teacher. I dont know how many times she must have taught me the alphabet!

In dgp, it was all new. A new language, a new culture. Didn't have any friends - the first few months. It was until school started in Jan. Maybe not even then. The language was quite a barrier and it wasn't until many weeks passed that someone would talk or even acknowledge a stranger's presence.

It was during this time - between Sep and Jan that discovered my first love. My uncle who had completed his bachelors in the college and had moved out just as we came in. He had left some of his unwanted stuff in a small suitcase. All that I remember was some books - A Tale of Two Cities, Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I dont even remember if they were abridged or unabridged versions. The last two did not appeal that much to me because of the small print. Somehow the first one fascinated me - perhaps the print was slightly larger and I must have felt I could read it.

Thus began my journey into the world of books. It was fascinating. Dont think I understood every word of the book but I did manage to get the horror of the french revolution and the guillotine and the sacrifice of Sidney Carter.

Since then I must have read whatever I laid my hands on - Amar Chitra Kathas, Comics, Chandamamas, Tintin, Asterix, Enid Blytons, Hardy Boys, ....

My favorite author was of course Enid Blyton. They were a delight and joyfully devoured every time. And I love the smell of books, esp. when they are no longer new ... mmmm!

Coming back to now, I still read a lot. And I love the libraries in this country. Something I missed when we were in Swiss. At least in India there are plenty of bookstores you could go to and just hang around. Swiss - not many English bookstore. The library had a small collection of English books - old ones that too. Everything else is in German. No wonder, I was only too glad to move out of the country when S got an offer here.

When we move back to India, that's what I will miss. The easy and free access to tons of books! And DVDs:)