The book's the thing

Good books transport us to another world; great ones make us want to live there forever

A few weeks ago, suddenly overtaken by a wave of nostalgia, I pulled out an old, battered copy of Jilly Cooper’s Riders from my bookshelves to relive the memories of my misspent youth. And before you could say ‘bonkbuster’ I was back in the universe of Rutshire, a rural enclave enlivened by the heart-stoppingly good looking (and heartbreakingly caddish) Rupert Campbell Black, the show jumper who rarely met a woman he didn’t want to jump. And even though I knew the story and even remembered some of the more memorable lines I was still sucked into the world that Cooper had created so evocatively. 

So much so that I felt a sense of acute bereavement when the book ended and it was time to say goodbye to the characters. Except, of course, that I did not need to do any such thing. All I had to do to remain in that idyllic universe was to download the next seven books in the series. And that’s exactly what I did, racing through Rivals, Polo, The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous. And as of this writing I am immersed in the world of classical music with Appassionata — but still within the confines of the mythical Rutshire.  

Cooper may make it look effortless but it takes an amazing amount of skill, imagination and dexterity to create a world in which the reader immerses herself so that she never wants to ever leave it. Few writers, no matter how good they are, manage to do that. And those who succeed are the ones to whom I go back again and again to live in the environs which they have conjured up with the magic of their pen. 

The first writer I encountered who managed to do that was Georgette Heyer. I discovered her Regency Romances when I was a teenager and I was immediately transported into another era in which women were squeezed into corsets before being poured into gowns and presented for the delectation of the ‘ton’. But these women were not just beautiful playthings; they were brave, feisty, fiery, even fierce. And in a world that offered them no path of advancement other than marriage, they still managed to leave their imprint on the world. 

And what a world it was! There were balls held on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo; there were masquerades in which the identities of villains were unmasked; there were strong women who held their own in a world ruled by men; and there were love stories that lost none of their passion for being conducted in such a chaste universe. 

Since then I have discovered a few other writers who have inveigled me into their fictional worlds. There was the late, great John le Carre, whose ‘Circus’, populated by such legendary characters as George Smiley, kept me entertained for decades. There is Donna Leon, who brings Venice alive in her series of detective novels. And of course there is my old favourite, Daniel Silva, whose spy novels starring the Israeli spymaster, Gabriel Allon, are in a class of their own. 

They say that the power of a good book is that it can take us out of our world and into a parallel universe. But it’s only the truly great ones that make you want to live there forever. And I count myself lucky to have found several such worlds nestled among my bookshelves. 

Surviving college 101

 As teenagers across the country begin college life, here are some tips to get them started. 

Like millions of other teenagers across India, my teenage niece packed her bag

 and headed out to college last week. Hitee has always been an academic star 

but I am guessing that she headed for the portals of Ashoka University with 

the same combination of apprehension and excitement that I did when I 

entered Loreto College to study English literature so many moons ago.

 

As the pictures of her campus, her new room, her classmates began inundating 

the family Whatsapp group, I began thinking about my own college years and 

what I wish I had done – and not done – during that period of my life. Of course, 

everybody’s college experience is unique but here, in no particular order of 

importance, are some things that I wish I had known as I studied for my

 Honours degree.

 

·       Worrying about your grades during this period is the default position 

for almost everyone in college. And for naturally competitive people like 

Hitee and me it is almost second nature to study obsessively so that we 

score over everyone else. But looking back now, I wish I had spent less 

time in the college library and more time in the common room having fun.

 Yes, it’s true that getting a good rank in your finals matters when you 

head out to the real world looking for a job. But it’s equally true that in a 

few years’ time, nobody cares or asks about what you scored in your exams

 – and the odds are that you don’t remember either. So, why spend every 

waking moment agonizing about something that won’t even matter 

in the long run?

·       It’s not your marks that are for life; it’s your friends. And this is the

 time when you make friends for life. There is an intensity to college

 friendships that is difficult, if not impossible, to replicate in later life. 

Which is why college friends eventually become your 3 am friends 

(whom you call even in the dead of night when you need help). And why

 no matter how long you lose touch with a college mate, you can pick up

 effortlessly from where you left off. But the trick is to keep yourself open

 to friendships with a wide and diverse group. Don’t restrict yourself to 

people who are just like you; seek out those who have had very divergent 

life experiences. This is the best way of enriching your own life, 

both now and in the future.

·       Don’t worry about being a ‘Cool Girl’ (or boy) or whatever the kids 

are calling it these days. It may seem like a big deal to be in with the hip

 (again, please insert Gen Z alternative) crowd right now, but trust me, 

it’s not worth the bother. You don’t have to change yourself to fit in with 

any group – and any group that requires you to do so is not worth joining. 

So, wear what you like, eat what you want, listen to the music of your 

choice, watch your own kind of shows, and pay no attention to the 

‘trendies’ mocking you.

·       But most of all, have fun. Have fun learning new things. Have fun

 meeting new people. Have fun discovering what you are good at. Have fun 

working out what you are becoming. And above all, have fun being yourself 

– because everyone else is taken.