Dehradun, Sept. 16 -- The Books from My Shelves

I am grateful to Mr Napalchyal for considering me for this piece and, in the process, taking me down a beautiful memory lane. As a child, the thrill of visiting a bookstore on Sundays, browsing the shelves, picking up more books than my little hands could hold, and receiving that approving nod from my father was incomparable.

Revisiting the books I had read brought forgotten images, people, places and experiences vividly back to life. Books do not simply occupy our shelves or memories; they become intertwined with our experiences, preserving fragments of who we once were. My relationship with books has changed with the seasons of my life, but the romance began early, with Jataka Tales, Ama...