Inheritance

When we think of inheritance, usually what comes to our mind is wealth, property, or family heirlooms passed down from one generation to the next. But if I have to pose you a question: What is the inheritance you have received that is not tangible, can’t be sold, bought and profited from. There are so many of them good and bad, that we receive from our parents. And some are most definitely much more precious that all the gold and shares that would eventually be bequeathed to us.

I feel reading has been a precious family heirloom that has been passed on to me through generations. My mother who gets her habit from her father, is a voracious reader and I have seen and still see my house filled with books and at least 2 books with bookmarks that are being currently read. My father narrates of times when he used to astonish his librarian by picking up a book in the morning and returning it by night to get his next one.

Something that could be looked at as one of the many many sources of entertainment available now, has a very special spotlight in the act of my life. If I think about it, it has actually kept me afloat at certain times, given me company, perspective, provided an escape, helped me feel I am not alone and has been my sacred safe space at times. I was just browsing through my ‘Read’ section of Goodreads the other day and could actually remember the mood, situation, and feelings I had when i was reading that particular book, sometimes even the place where I read the most part of it. 

I remember having a Nancy Drew inside my textbooks in school and reading it whilst deriving the thrill of doing something forbidden, visiting and getting the membership to my first library in 6th grade and being absolutely enthralled and captivated by the potential worlds I now had the access to. I remember reading all night and my mother getting angry and switching off the lights at 2am - only to device a master plan to read inside the sheets with a torch (Ah! the days before Kindle) During grad school , which I now remember as a very simple time spent in my hometown in the security of my parents and with school friends, I remember reading books and talking about them in labs after the practical is over. After reading the biography of Benjamin Franklin, and knowing how he started a free library where people could join my donating just 5 books - my friend and I started this in school and went upto around 9-10 members! 

Then when i moved out of Nasik and came to Mumbai, I remember hating this city (that now I am in love with) Everything was new, I didn’t know anyone and felt I couldn’t match up to the sophistication and style of Mumbaikars and the other outgoing super-confident classmates. The days were long and homesickness hit me like a storm. My favorite place that time became the Flora fountain book stalls and not Marine drive. Books were cheap and were taken back after reading at half their price! I used to get lost in books in between classes and that made it easy to not have to talk to anyone. It has always been difficult for me to make new friends and reading has helped me be okay with being a bit socially challenged.

Through happiness and sadness, love and heartbreak, getting new jobs and work stress, during work travel and vacations, mundanity and adventure, to something as recent as motherhood and balancing it all - book of a genre that feels comforting at that point in time - has been my constant companion. I hope I pass this inheritance on to my daughter. What is heartening is her excitement when she sees books - ‘booosh’. Can’t wait to discuss and debate books with her, attend reading sessions and book clubs and go book store hopping with her!