Old Familiar Faces (The Woman from the Past)

Whenever I open my cupboard, it never fails to amaze me with its contents. Sometimes my old notebooks used years before, sometimes a leaf file with my random scribblings in it, sometimes bits of papers filled with random  English words whose meanings yet to be found out, sometimes my college books with some ten to fifty rupee notes in them. 

The joy of bumping into these old pals is something that only the messy people like me can understand. It was purely serendipitous that I chanced upon this bookmark wedged between two hardbound books. It was so special for two reasons— 1. It was so reminiscent and unique 2. It was handmade (by me)— a collection of some five circular charts with same radius (most probably of 2cm each) glued together vertically as a single whole. That's undoubtedly way too big to be a bookmark. But I had my reasons behind that. 

It was because, I had to write the titles of the books I read, on the charts each and every time I finished reading one, I had to add a circle, with the title of the book written in it. And that was called "MY BOOK WORM" . The concept was simple. It grew bigger and bigger as my reading gained momentum. I was delighted in an unfathomable way to add each circle as I finished reading books one by one. And so was My BOOKWORM— It grew merrily with my reading list. 

But somehow the habit of feeding the bookworm petered out and I totally forgot about this little creature. Now this creature is here with its wide grin, asking me to feed him more. And I have to relent.

This funny cute bookworm of mine reminded me of someone who is so special in my career. The one who gave me the idea of giving life to this bookworm; the one who instilled in me the sheer love for reading books; the one who convinced a person like me who had never even read a single book apart from school/college texts, (that too out of compulsion) to explore and read more beyond the texts. 

I can still see her. Her collarbone length hair pulled in a stiff ponytail with a few clips, thick rimmed spectacles which would showcase her brilliance with curious pair of eyes behind them. Her perfectly pointed nose, always buried in books. Lips that are amiably widened in a perfect smile. It's SHE, my senior colleague—a bookshelf personified. 

She was the one who cemented the bond between the books and me. Her words are so powerful that they still resonate in my mind...

"Don't be intimidated by the size of a book, girl; reading is an escape; never will you regret it; it will add to your language too....." 

When I doubted if I could finish a whole book from "cover to cover" (since I hadn't accomplished that before), she brushed aside all the doubts and inhibitions by suggesting a deeply engrossing book which naturally became my most favourite — "Right Here Right Now". 

How amazing it was by then to read a book with an odd sense of pride (which only a new reader can feel) and the last two chapters ... I remember reading them when the clock was ticking twelve. From that day on, there was no looking back. 

I turned to be a nerdy bookworm who would walk into the library with pupils dilated out of excitement to carefully browse through the shelves to handpick a perfect book or two and walk out with a spring in my step. 

After all this cramped tiny little creature took me to the fond old days and remarkable people (The old familiar faces) whom I can never let go of from my memories.