Books

Why I liked "Malegalalli Madumagalu" so much?. Reason is this. I always liked Kadidal. During my 8th standard, I become so much busy with my school, music class, that hardly I used to go to Kadidal. I was missing Kadidal. And this book is all about life of Thirthalli. That's the reason I think why I liked that book so much.

After this book, I read so many books. Kuvempu, Shivaram Karanth, S L Bairappa, Tejaswsi, .......... list is very big. One thing I have to mention here. When I was in 10th standard, I wanted to change myself. All my cousins were very modern, they used to wear jeans, skirts, and I wanted to become like them. During Dasara holidays, we have been to south India trip. While coming back went to Bangalore and we visited my uncles house. We wanted to do some shopping and my aunt took us to MG road for shopping. I declared that I am going to purchase Jeans and skirts. My mother said OK(Papa was not there. I wonder how he would have reacted for that!). I purchased whatever I wanted.

Next day we reached Shimoga, and that evening amma gave me a book and asked me to read that book. "The Loon Feather" by Russian author Iola Fuller. And that book changed my life so much! It is story of a girl called Oneta. Story is about cultural dilemma in young minds. When America was French colony, Onetas father Teshumshah was a great freedom fighter. After his death her mother marries a Frenchman. Her stepfather send her to France for studies. After coming back from studies, she gets really confused about her cultural identity. On one side she develops a negative thought about her own Indian culture and she tries hard to adopt French culture. But it becomes very difficult as French culture was not close to her heart. Finally she realizes that culture is like a root. We can't change the root of a tree. There is nothing as superior culture and inferior culture. All are one and same. Every culture has its negative side. Accept your culture. Try to change bad things.

And I realized that jeans, skirts are not my identity. I was blindly trying to follow someone. After 10th exam during vacation my mother gave me mills and boons to read (which she used to read during her college days). She is a very strange person, who doesn't like jewelry, parties. But she love to watch Hindi movies. Always she will be singing hindi film songs. I enjoyed Mills and Boons. I started thinking whether true love exists in this world, as they show in hindi movies or in Mills and Boons. My mother said yes. And that age! I also felt that there is someone, whom god has created for me who will make my life complete, who will fill my life with joy, he will share his happiness and sorrows with me, blablablabla.

Hahahahaha. Life was like heaven during those days.