Even before I learned to read/write, books were my sanctuary, my safe haven. The former years of my childhood were spent in a big Marwari joint family. My mom was almost always in the kitchen. She would make a circle of magazines and books around me and make me sit in the center. Even if she was occupied for hours at a stretch, I would keep turning every single page of those magazines patiently and make my way from start to finish of the circle. I think I was around 1-2 yrs old at the time. She was sometimes late in giving me food but even if I …
When Breath Becomes Air
I had read this book a few months back and I read the last 2 chapters again this morning. The news of close friends and family members falling sick was making me anxious and yet ironically I felt that reading the autobiography of a talented neurosurgeon - Paul Kalanithi who died at a very young age from cancer will give me peace. And it sure did. It’s quite emotional, heart-breaking but also a profound and inspiring story of a remarkable man. It’s a book about embracing the reality of death which teaches you how to be alive, being …