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A 9 year old tells us in this sweet piece, how books became his best friends, despite a crippling eye affliction.
In December 2015, we had #BookTalk, a theme based writing contest. There were some children who wrote in. Although we could not use these as contest entries, we appreciated the effort. Sharing the first one of these, by a 9 year old.
The cue was: “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination and the journey. They are home.” ― Anna Quindlen, How Reading Changed My Life
Here is what 9 year old Nimal has to say.
Imagine a life without reading. Reading is very good for our memory. It makes us involved. It also teaches us many words, idioms etc. Reading is also fun. I enjoy reading horror, mystery and adventurous books. We get so excited when we start reading an adventurous book.
I started reading books when I was 6 years. My mother used to tell me a lot of stories. She bought me a lot of books and I got used to reading them. First I started a book called ‘Tales of Panchatantra’ which has a lot stories in it.
It had big fonts and so many pictures. It had many interesting stories. As I started a book I started reading many books and asked my parents to buy more. I developed problems with my vision. And this became a big problem. The doctor asked me to wear a big, fat spectacles. At first I felt weird. It was very irritating that I felt like throwing my spectacles to the dustbin. My parents did not allow me read for a couple of months. After that my mother got me few more books. When I started reading first few pages my eyes started to hurt. Later my parents helped me. They helped with meanings for the new words. I started using these words again and again. And then my eyes started to hurt even more. I had to visit the doctor. The doctor said I could only read 5 to 10 minutes a day and not more than that.
I started to read 10 minutes every day. I increased the time day by day and now I can read without any difficulty. I enjoy reading books. Reading has helped me a lot in my life. It has calmed me down. If there’s no book in my life there would be no fun. Now my best friend is a book.
Image source: boy with a book by Shutterstock.
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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