One of my earliest and fondest memories is Ma reading Russian Folktales to Di and me...In her own novel way, she could bring alive the stricken "Alyonushka" and her brother "Ivanushka", the rib ticking "Emelya" and his pike or the nightmarish "Baba Yaga" in her three legged hut...Ma would also sing us nursery rhymes, showing us the illustrated pages, my favourite being the fortune telling "Monday's Child"...I remember writing my first short story inspired by Thumbellina...During many August nights when Bhubaneswar bore the brunt of the monsoons, the wind would howl outside my window and Ma would read us excerpts from Anne Frank's "Diary of a Young Girl" by the candle light...Though I was too young to understand, I remember, when the lights came up, Ma would brush away the tears streaming down Di's face...When I read it today, I realise what made Di cry all those nights...During the sweltering summers, we would sit on the portico with Ma on her rocking chair and hear amusing anecdotes from Charles Chaplin's biography...When Ma had her accident and was bedridden for months, I'd sit by her after school everyday...I was still in Preparatory and seeing her leg in a cast with traction made me cry helplessly...It was then that she gave me my first Enid Blyton and asked me to read to her...What started with atrocious pronunciation (I'd pronounce Puzzles as Pooz-less) and retarded sentences, grew into a hobby I'd carry with me for the rest of my life...

All through my school years, I'd swallow book after book ! From Chandamama to Champak, from Tinkle to Tin-Tin ! Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu were heroes among us school friends, ("Chacha Chaudhary's mind works faster than a computer !") though thankfully, Ma made sure I read less of it owing to the million grammatical mistakes in each copy ! Ma had a wonderful collection of original Indrajaal comics from her era of the sixties and seventies and all I needed was a bowl of Maggi, a cup of chilled Bournvita and Mandrake, Phantom, Flash Gordon or Kerry Drake in my hands !

The Archie addiction was passed down from Di, my cousins and my retro-hip Mamu...In a jiffy, I was picking up the latest American words and had my very first crush on Jughead...Archies gave me my first sketching lesson too...I'd relentlessly try to sketch the svelte Ronnie and Betty and with time, I could pencil decent curves and posh outfits...

In my early teens, I couldn't wait to finish my homework and grab the Malory Towers or Nancy Drew off the shelves ! I also remember "Angie's Choice", a teenage romantic paperback, which was special because the reader had options after every chapter...The reader could decide Angie's fate and as it had four different endings, it felt like reading four different books ! As I neared my sixteenth birthday, I remember whisking away my first Mills and Boon from Ma's collection and gleefully reading it on my bed at night...The excitement did wear off soon especially as every M&B had the same storyline, the virgin damsel in distress and the macho saviour to the rescue ! Those were also the days of David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace's "Book of Lists"...Though few people know about this series, it has been one of the most interesting compilations I've ever come across till date !

It was sometime in the autumn of '99 that I read my very first Sidney Sheldon..."Doomsday Conspiracy" took me to the world I'd never dreamt off...Within a year, I had exhausted all that Sheldon had written, as Ma had his entire collection...From the Swiss Alps and lush Greece to the diamond studded Africa...Sidney Sheldon took me through exotic places and thrilling chases and taught me exquisite words as well as profanities in several languages ! Though Sheldon gave way to Arthur Hailey, John Grisham and Mario Puzo, he remained my favourite till the end...Realising that I was a mystery buff, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple soon became my bosom buddies...

When my friend Mayank gifted me a book called "Tuesdays With Morrie" by Mitch Albom, he gave me six hours of tearful reading and my favourite book ever...Perhaps, "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini could so easily move me to tears as "Tuesdays With Morrie"...

Over the years, several non fictional books have intrigued me, the most being "90 Minutes At Entebbe"...Being a pro-Israeli, I was enthralled by William Stevenson's account of the Israelis in the Air France highjack by PLO terrorists in 1976..."The Wings of Fire" was yet another book that motivated me owing to my immense fascination with A.P.J Abdul Kalam...

In having read countless books and continuing to do so, I consider my books as my adventure enthusiasts, my sturdy friends, and my loving companions...

In the words of Charles Eliot,

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers..."