Dehradun, Oct. 5 -- Books from My Shelves

From Maugham and Ayn Rand to the Mahabharata and the Upanishads, a personal journey through books

My earliest influence as a reader was my mother. Though she had received formal education only up to high school, she was deeply fond of literature. Despite a demanding household routine that occupied her from morning till night, she always found time to read. I still remember her reading Victor Hugo's Les Miserables with tears in her eyes, moved by the fate of one of its characters. She later told me that, henceforth, she would stay with W. Somerset Maugham, her favourite English author.

My own reading began with childhood magazines such as Chandamama and Parag, followed by Enid Blyton and books s...