Anand Sivashankar's blog

There is this world famous lady who has even played the violin in one of her films. Her name is Celina Jaitley and as stated earlier, I haven’t the foggiest idea who she is or what she looks like.

My sister and I were watching some 300 channels together before settling on the cerebral charms of Scooby Doo when we came across this article on the above-mentioned lady.
I take the liberty of adding a few of my emboldened comments to this obviously smitten journo’s well-researched piece below--

I own about 5,000 books ( Sure !) , but my tryst with reading obviously began with one ( Poetic, practical and pedantic—wow a rollicking start !) . My father, who is the Indian Army ( Huh ! ! OK, like George Bush is the USA, Laloo Prasad is the law etc ) , went on temporary duty and returned with a present for me — a General Knowledge Bank book. I was too young to read, so he would read it aloud. ( It is usually the other way around—Temporary duty is where no grass grows etc ) ( Hitherto, I had heard only heard of a Children’s Knowledge Bank , I guess I was in the dark ) It opened up a whole new world for me — I understood how dreams occur, why glowworms glow, etc.( Yeah, right, the epiphany of Life, in short, 42 ) There’s been no turning back. I was always seen with a book (I guess this is the line where my sister doubled up mirth, in fact if books had lives, they’d say, I was seen with Celina Jaitley !) ) , and I’ve always preferred books as birthday gifts. I read in the make-up van, while travelling, etc.( Will take your word for it ) My parents and grandparents have played an important role in inculcating the habit; my father owns about 2,000 to 3,000 books and I’ve inherited several from my grandfather. ( I guess that means over 7000-8000 already, and counting ) Enid Blyton books were gifts from my grandparents; I’d spend long hours indulging in fantasy and adventure. I must tell you, though, that I didn’t enjoy reading school textbooks. I preferred flipping through Tell Me Why and other encyclopedias. That’s what books represent — entertainment and information. ( I’m speechless , the urge to show one’s epistemological proclivities are shamelessly manifest ) Books make excellent life partners, providing you with experiences and knowledge that no one can ever take away from you. ( Life partners ? I’ve heard marriages to trees, frogs but books –Like, here, Mrs Sharma, meet my better half, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch ) There are very few books that I don’t enjoy. I read books by Sidney Sheldon as easily as, say, Mein Kamph by Adolf Hitler.( No comment ! I haven’t read either ) Even a Mills and Boon has something to offer, but I dislike graphic books, like the kind Jackie Collins writes. I find them violent, offensive and demeaning towards women. I’m also not a Potter fan; I think I’m too old to read Harry Potter! ( Even a Mills & Boon—how condescending ! I once thought that was the rites of passage for every adolescent—it’s her opinion after all but I guess M & B would be the worst perpetrators of the archetypal dependent, capricious, vulnerable women ) I understand that reading is an expensive habit because books are an expensive buy (if only they’d be subsidised!). I also understand that that there’s no room in Mumbai homes to house books. ( How understanding—subsidised by whom ? ) But I’d still encourage people to read, to visit libraries. There are so many residential societies in Mumbai, and everyone wants to build a gym. (Why can’t they build libraries as well? ( To lower your cholesterol, reading the da Vinci Code advised ) I’m building one currently. ( Way to go, my beaver girtl ) For me, it’s a dream come true, because keeping a well-stocked library inside the home is a tradition in our family ( But you already have 5000 books, so what’s the point ? ) …I’ll be devastated if my children don’t turn out to be ardent readers!” ( I only wish the inherit your reading genes, Miss –All the Best !)

What ? The session’s over ? But you haven’t shown me with Catcher in the Rye yet ! ( pout pout ) Done ? OK, fine, good !
Wait a minute till I run along and bring in the Discovery of India too ! And then, you can click me with a Rushdie book ?