Booked and hooked by the other soulmate.

I am sitting in my favorite room of my house. A bright,small room which doubles up as a gym,as my brother-in-law's room on his yearly visits and as my imagined reading room. Yes,yes I seem very English now when I said reading room. For us middle class people 2-BHK and 3-BHK are spaces to quantify and not for other worldly interests such as reading. But its amazing where imagination can take us like Anne Shirley says.

I am reading Anna Karenina now. The peace of the room ,the freshness of the morning and ofcourse the energy of the bulls-eye which I just had, helps me to relax and go back to childhood and think how much I loved reading when I was small. I do not know when I started or which was the first book I held. I have a faint memory (I am just 30!) of loving the literature books in school, both Hindi and English. My brother used to study in a different school so I used to devour his literature books as well. I may have been the only girl in my class who thought the school library was a kiosk to hang around. I never understood the meaning of 'maintain silence' in the library. For me that hallowed place was a place to talk,meet my best friends,a temple of love,a beautiful soul place. (I think this great unadulterated love is what got the Gods of books jealous and put me in this stupid place without libraries. Well! )

I used to cajole my nosy but fairy librarian to let me borrow more books than which were permissible for a month. We were allowed not more than 3 a month even though you may read all 3 within that time. But she knew my voracious greed and bypassed the rules. (did I mention she is not nosy,but a fairy? ) After finishing my library books and in the unfortunate occasion of being at home on a Sunday, I used to read Mills and Boons, the Las Vegas of books.(yeah I said that!) Though I hated silly romances, I loved how I could travel to countrysides,ranches and have splendid tea and sandwiches,watch the TDH guy rolling in the hay with the peach skinned girl. All this free and no visa!

My Mom once caught a book in my chemistry text book and warned me to reduce my reading,which resulted in me covering my books in brown school cover and peace and happiness prevailed in the house.

In the past some years, after moving from home and in hostels for 8 years almost, I had left off the habit for lack of supply. Studies,work and then marriage makes you pack your luggage and move to places and books remain in libraries or home. I have been married or 3 years now and on our visits home to Kerala I first go and check if my Dad has kept his oath of not lending my books to others,not even other bookworms. (they are to be feared the most coz they know about the brown paper trick you see!) Then my little boy was born and I was off work for some time. That 'free' time made me join Twitter and read other articles on the net about things which once interested me,books,art etc and I saw how so many bookworms were confessing their love for books and how joyfully and blatantly books were their companion. Not a thing on the shelf catching dust, not in a corner, not an option and definitely not in brown cover.

When I visited home again, I went up to my bookcase and saw my books as if I was looking at them for the first time. I saw some unfamiliar ones, then the worn out ones, these knew me. They knew how I was at different phases of my life. I realised they were the same to me, but I had changed.

I am slowly going back to books. I feel liberated and yet I have a companion, a soulmate. No, I am happy enough in the 'normal' world and have a content life but books were that part of my childhood and teenage which gave wonderful memories. I need them again. We all love nostalgia don't we?


Is there a sin for greed of reading like there is gluttony for the greed of food?