The Books from My Shelves
By Dr Geetanjali PT
Growing up in the pre-Internet, pre-Google, pre-Netflix era, in a lovely scenic town, with very little influence of modernization, half a century ago, I suppose my recourse to an interesting life was always fiction. Then again, having parents and grandparents who valued the written word, let’s just say the die was cast, to turn yet another young one in the family into a bookworm!
Having disdain for people who tend to romanticize what was and what is, I find myself at the crossroads of exactly this same sentiment of wondering what the good old days were like, of reminiscing about my youth and then came along this lovely opportunity of putting into words what was and has always been my one true love: words and books and prose and fiction. Ah! To let oneself fall into the charm of the written word. Such bliss!
Long before my thoughts were condensed enough to fathom the beauty of prose, I stumbled upon “The Good Earth” by Pearl S. Buck. I re-read it maybe 30 years later when all of it made much more sense to me the poignancy of O-Lan giving up her earrings, the greediness of his sons talking about how soon Wang Lung, their father would pass on, so that they would have a hold on his land and fortune. So very sad how life actually turns out and unfortunately so true to form. And then came “Midnight’s Children” by Salman Rushdie, and my understanding of the Partition and Independence took on a whole new take. Fiction for me was my go to place, but when you have gems like Salman Rushdie fictionalize history, with what I thought, always had a tinge of truth, I remain enamoured. Years passed, as did the books I read. Somewhere in between I fell in love with Rainer Maria Rilke. When he writes to a young poet in a gem of a book called “Letters to a Young Poet” and says “Go within and scale the depths of your being from which your very life springs forth”. I wondered at that time, was he speaking to me? That lovely little book, is an encouragement to every aspiring writer or poet. Time passed, and as I delved into even more into fiction, which I realized had a hold on my mind beyond description, I moved on in life. Between college and being a grown up, a lot of fiction passed through my reading list, and then maybe ten or so years ago, reading took on a new avatar for me. An escape maybe? Or maybe a better understanding. Or maybe, “shudder”, I had started aging!!!
Gurcharan Das: “The Difficulty of Being Good: The Subtle Art of Dharma”, made me reflect upon what exactly we mean when we say we are doing what is conveniently considered good. What exactly is Dharma? Such a profound question. What is it that life or society expects from us? A life defining moment to say the least. And my first encounter with spirituality. Then along comes the “Ibis Trilogy” by Amitav Ghosh as well as a book called “In an Antique Land”, and I found myself swept into the history of indentured slaves, colonialism, Mauritius, Egypt and understanding the beauty of the study of Anthropology. A link between today and yesterday, from a human perspective. Not just the facts and figures of history as text books describe it.
John Steinbeck spoke or rather wrote about “East of Eden”, a seminal work of prose, as well as “Of Mice and Men” and it made me take a hard look at American literature and the stalwarts. Beautiful storytelling, yes, but also hard hitting. Somewhere along the way I encountered, a bittersweet story by Fredrick Backman called “A Man called Ove”. Human frailty and the human spirit to surmount all odds, that’s what stayed with me. A book I’d recommend to anyone who needs a reason to go on.
In life, I have always felt, we need to stay in touch with our surroundings. Gregory David Robert in “Shantaram” did that for me. Fact or fiction is up for grabs, but his description of Mumbai (and its underbelly) was gripping. Moving on thinking about life changing books which make one try to understand cultures beyond our limited thought processes, comes along Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen”. The story of Rueven and Daniel, a coming-of-age book. A story which has stayed with me, not because of its difference between our Indian culture and Judaism, but because of that poignant conversation between Rueven and his father, when his father speaks about the importance of each and every living being on this planet, and the importance of each of our actions. And then I move on to a topic close to my heart, the philosophy of Nichiren Daishonin, and a book which literally changed my life, written by Dr Daisaku Ikeda “Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death”, a book which transformed my life on a personal level. A book which made me rethink about life on an existential level. Where do we come from? Where do we go? And what is the meaning of our life and existence. This, Sensei Ikeda answered me, in this book. I rest my case.
Books! Authors!
Where would we be without them?
(Dr Geetanjali PT is a general physician by profession, but a bibliophile at heart. Lives in the hills. She divides her time between the NCR and the hills; and her patients and books.)
