First Step

“I get sad every time I hear a person say ‘I don’t read’. It’s like saying ‘I don’t learn’ or ‘I don’t laugh’ or ‘I don’t live’.” ~ Anonymous 

Every time I read this quote, it strikes home. The power of the written word is immense. To be able to come across a piece of work that inspires you, captures you and takes you to a world of its own is a blessing. My first memory of a book is a giant kid’s atlas I had when I was three or four years old. It was much bigger than I was at the time. I could not understand a word of it – the names of the countries, its features, the tiny compass at the corner indicating directions. I understood nothing.

Yet, I used to spend hours on end lying on top of that book, poring over each page over and over again as a scientist would go over theories for his research. Around the same time, my mother introduced me to the world of literature through the tiny Ladybird story collections.

The world of Thumbelina, Cinderella, Pinocchio and The Three Little Pigs became part of my reality. I fell in love with words, with the magic of it and the fantasy. And then there came a point when I wanted to tell stories of my own instead of just living a fantasy through someone else’s words. So I started writing. And now here I am, nearly 16 years later, still as much and even more in love with words and their world as I was all those years back.

They say the first step is always the hardest. But taking that first step into the world of books and writing has been the easiest step for me. It was a small step, as simple as opening a book and breathing in the scent of words, of a world within and yet transcending our own. But sometimes, the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. 

Wouldn’t you agree?