5 Reasons why books are the best companions one can look for?

Have you ever felt lonely coming back to one of your own cities? A city where who have worked and lived for years...A city to which you can never be a stranger yet you feel strange coming back here after eight long years. It is difficult to sum up the emotions but one month gone I still am not back to my usual self. Don’t know why am not able to embrace Delhi easily this time. I feel unsafe when S travels, hiring a new house help gives me goosebumps and have not devoured my vicinities at all so far quite unlike the usual me. The reason may be the onslaught on health due to shifting, then travelling to hometown for Diwali and now the SMOG warning but yes I admit I am yet to get in my groove. But this post is not about this rant but about my best companions yet again amidst all the turmoil that have kept me beautifully charged and smiling throughout, no points for guessing they are my books. I love rather live to read and while I have left all my stuff behind at my Pune Home , I have carried with me all my books. So the old treasure has been dug and with immense pleasure I am soaking in these gorgeously smelling priceless possessions of mine, coming out of the cartons gradually into their new home and can I be thankful enough to them for being my perennial companions through thick or thin for decades now. Some of them are as old as when I was in class three-four and were gifted to me by my teacher, can there be anything more precious than them?

Only yesterday I have been telling my child that we are not rich when we have abundance of monetary wealth but we are rich when we have abundance of wealth of wisdom which can be acquired in only two ways, in my opinion, one when we travel across the world and gain it by our own experience which is not possible for all and the second is when we read good books which each and everyone can afford.

Thus today I thought of quickly enumerating to you five vital reasons why books can be the best companions one can look for?

1. A Reader can never be lonely: A worthy book transports you to your protagonist’s world and you live it delving in multiple seas of emotion or reason or fantasy depending on the genre you love. You befriend some characters, despise others, anticipate what may happen and thus rejoice in the author’s weave. In my home, books are our best friends. This was taught to me by my parents and I have passed on the same legacy to my kid. Dad’s frequent transfers made me befriend these and now they are my magic wand to ward off my loneliness in a new land. Also when I travelled to different countries for work, they never left me for a moment. Reading and writing are the two gifts I am extremely grateful for. It is equally beautiful being able to weave your emotions in words. The more you read the better gets your writing too and these two are my biggest passions.

2. Oceans of knowledge: When we read a book we read about a setting which is set in a country mostly for away from us and as we suck in the delightful tale we also absorb the culture, the language, the behaviour and several other things about it. Isn’t that so wonderful to experience it all just amidst a few pages. Indeed books are treasure.

3. Enrich your personality: When you become a voracious reader you get the realisation how minuscule we are in the whole universe. We embrace humility and crave to enrich ourselves with wise man habits and the desired skill set. The more you read the more you understand the complexities of human existence thus you become more and more capable of expressing yourself on a random topic in front of a strange crowd.

4. Help you evolve:  Books help you evolve in a well read human being. They can also be the starting point of several lifetime relationships as in my case. I say read all genres. It helps you frame your choice and eventually pick the one you love the most. I even switch genres sometimes to let my brain move out of it’s comfort zone. Also I am old school when books are concerned. I would recommend children read hard copies of books with no pressure on their eyes with screen time. I still buy hard copies and that’s my favourite task at airports or malls.

5. Bring in judgement of right or wrong: Another hidden advantage of reading is when you read how a good character behaves and how a bad one acts and on the end good wins over evil, we form our judgement and the good habits seep in silently yet strongly in our character.

Aren’t these enough reasons to make these little precious wonders a family member forever. Trust me when I say that there can’t be a better companion than our books and I really mean it. So when are you picking your next?

If you like what I write, you can grab the copies of my four published books here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny and Empowered Women Empower Women