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Young World
Discover the magic in a book
SHREEKUMAR VARMA
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Read a book. It’s the best way to travel to many lands, discover new sights, sounds and secrets.
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Reading is an adventure. All you need is a nudge in the right direction; the rest is up to you.
Photo: AP
Embark on an adventure: It’s unforgettable.
The holiday season is ripe for reading. Reading a book you’ve selected, your mind is thrown open to whatever might come your way. You can then draw a hundred meanings from what you read. Other people — mostly parents — select books for you based on what they think you ought to be reading. But that’s like being taken on a guided tour instead of being allowed to roam around on your own, discovering sounds, sights, smells and secrets. Reading is an adv
enture. You need a nudge in the right direction; the rest is up to you.
Some favourites
Today, old favourites like Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew and C.S. Lewis still dominate. Of course, Harry Potter who came in late rules the roost.
If you’re about to go on a holiday and you need to take a few books with you, I’d suggest a mix of new and old, combining entertainment and the classic. The former will give you much joy; and the classics will stay with you long after you’ve put them aside. I remember reading a book called The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley. It’s a bit dark and a bit sad, but somehow it has stayed with me after all these years. I’d also include Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped, if you like swashbuckling adventure you’ll remember years later. And don’t forget Roald Dahl, the eternal favourite; he’s a delight for all ages. For the sheer fun of it, add the William books by Richmal Crompton, and Frank Richards’ Billy Bunter stories. Zooming down to the present, who can resist a good book from Ruskin Bond? Look for the new Indian writers; there are several , some of them amazingly fresh reads. In fact, get away from the beaten track and look around. For those who enjoy poetry, there are several anthologies available, from the wonderfully lyrical to the ridiculously funny (try out Sukumar Roy and Edward Lear for the latter). And to really understand the art of telling tales, you mustn’t miss the Panchatantra, the Arabian Nights and Alice in Wonderful (which is compulsory reading!).
And please don’t reject comics — they are the fore-runners to the most exciting development in the reading world: the graphic novel.
But wait — that’s too much guidance already. Your foreign land is waiting to be discovered. By you. By yourself.
KING OF PASTIMES
Children are reading more today, in spite of other powerful interests like TV, video games, films, and the Net. During my childhood, we had none of these. The world was mainly divided into two: the world outside and the world within. Books were the key to unlock this world within. We were more in touch with Nature then, and sometimes it felt as if we were reliving the tales of adventure that we read.
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