കളിക്കുടുക്ക , ബാലഭൂമി ,et cetera.
Let me tell you the story behind my reading habit.Way back during the early ages of 4 I recollect being read my first 'Kalikkudukka'.For those who aren't familiar with the publication,Kalikkudukka,Malayalam for "Fun Pot" is a children's publication by the team behind "Malayala Manorama" newspaper and the Kids' ever favorite "Balarama".There is a distinct picture of a scrawny yellow leopard in the midst of a a green forest,Multicoloured Google-like logo of Kalikkudukka with the date may 1996 jutting out in my mind when I remember those days.Back then,a Kalikkudukka just cost you 10 Rupees.
Luttappi's antic's to thwart and scare children end up being foiled by Maayavi the philanthropic mini-demon! A formula which kept me and and the rest of my generation enchanted.Unlike today's balarama and kalikkudukkas luttappi and mayavi both sported a black briefs. For some reason,the iconic characters are drawn wearing long knee length tunics.An assortment cast which featured in Mayavi proved to be the delight for children those days.
Later I switched to Balabhumi when I got into my 1st standard.standard. Balabhumi played a great role in enriching my Malayalam language.In fact I believe I am one among the few who might have read the first issue of balabhumi! Balabhumi originals like
"മാജിക്ക് മാലു" and "വെള്ളത്തിലാശാൻ";even " മൗസപ്പൻ"
provided laughs as well as cup-caked sized insights into the real world.It was during my 2nd standard, that I discovered Tintin comics."Destination Moon" was my first ever Tintin Comic.
the scene in which Cuthbert Calculus makes a fuss about "acting the goat" brings to me those moments of laughter I shared among friends quoting and re quoting that part of the comic.
Now,owners of Tintin books were deemed as rich kids by me.(This is partly true.Very few of my friends own the books :p)By the end of my Lower primary schooling i had read and watched almost all of the comics.I wanted to own them dearly.So that I could read and re read.Smell.Flip through my favorite ones;arrange them in a matrix and look at them all together.together. Tintin and "Asterix the Gaul" were equally popular.But I haven't Read any of the Asterix books.The art work on the comics used to overwhelm me.
[During my third year at CET,I downloaded the entire e-comic collection of TINTIN and ASTERIX via Kickass torrents.30 Tintin comics. 584MB. Bring me a Usb and I l give them to you too:) :)
Tintin was long gone and forgotten by Enid Blyton and her gangs of kids.I preferred the Five Find-outers to Secret seven.This was because the secret seven was far too exaggerated for an Indian boy who grew the way I did.seven Children of the same age group who manage to participate in every adventure,with a highly obedient Dog and a Club house full of munchy mouthwatering delicacies.Getting hold of these books from the public library was a difficult task too.
About Harry Potter
"The best Story-teller I have ever encountered"award goes to J K Rowling.Her succulent narrative and the Gothic atmosphere she conjured up in my brain.It remains till date.Harry potter is the best love story of our generation,motivating me till date.I grew up with harry potter.Read the books 3 and 4 in Third and Fourth standards,book 5 during class 5 Onam exams,Book 6 was read at painstakingly slow pace.I used to visit the school library 3 times a day,During our 2 15 minute long,short breaks,and a 40 minute spanning lunch break.There were 3 Half Blood Prince Books at "NEW ARRIVALS" shelf of the library.A steady number of Harry Potter fans used to rush to the library every day to get a few minutes of Harry Potter.The Santhome-Fest used to give me enough free time,so that I could spend at the library to finish off Book 6.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,The last book of the installment release date particularly dwells in my Mind.I used to go for maths tuition's during my ninth standard.While I waited to get the book from the library ,One of my tuition mates Bought a copy,read it on the first day itself(bunking a test-paper for that reason.)
I never liked Sidney Sheldon.Nor did I like Jeffrey Archer.Maybe they wrote pretty decent books.Or maybe even engrossing bestsellers.But I dint read any of them.I let go of my regular reading habit during the starting of my 10th standard.I continued this with 11th 12th,and my first two years of Engineering.
During my third year,While staying over at a friends hostel during exam day,I was introduced to the world of EPUB. Untill that day,I used to believe that my ipod,gifted to me by a classmate of my dad's was a totally useless piece of luxury.I started reading my first iBook, Life of Pi by Yann Martel,on the 30th of October 2013,And till today I have read about 40 books!.
New Interests
After I started reading books from my ipod,I became dependent on goodreads for book suggestions,and Kickass Torrents for downloading epubs.Human beings have an innate tendancy to count and list down things.That is where goodreads come into the spotlight.spotlight. Goodreads is basically a social network for bibliophiles.You can create an account and list books;Ones you have read,Ones you've wanted to read,and even the ones you are reading right now.Once these inputs have been fed,the site uses a smart algorithm(Similar to one which FB uses)
I discovered a staggering number of authors, heavily read-beautifully creative bloggers.A few readers I have encountered being Stephen King,Neil Gaiman. and Edgar Alan Poe. I could go on and on about each of them in this piece of article itself.But that would be tedious to my constant reader.See you next time.Sure.I will share my reading list and reviews too.
