Priya Vakil: Advocate & RR Parent

When I was young, at home, we had several bound volumes of Reader’s Digest Magazine. One day, my father asked me to read “Life’s like that” from it, telling me beforehand what it was about. Out of curiosity, I read one page, and I was hooked! Not only did I complete all the “Life’s like that” from all the volumes, I started reading everything else the thick volumes contained. Then, it was other books…… and the association with books has never ceased ever since. When I got busy raising my son Aatman and attending to my profession, I diverted my love for reading to Aatman by reading aloud to him from the time he was 4-5 months old. And I feel immensely satisfied that my son is a passionate reader today! And as luck would have it, he joined Reading Rainbow at a considerably young age. Reading Rainbow is a “culture”, which instills such love for reading in children in a unique way that the children develop lifelong love for books and reading.

Joining a reading club like that was a great opportunity for me too, to revisit my reading days. I experienced some good reading at Reading Rainbow. Once I borrowed the book "Trees Still Grow in Dehra" by Ruskin Bond. I was keen to take that particular book because the blurb said that the stories in it were mostly autobiographical. And because of RR and Atula, I have developed an affinity towards Ruskin Bond. So I felt compelled to take that book. I started reading and have found it difficult to put it down. It has left such a lasting impression on my mind and in my heart that is difficult to describe. Through the book, I have experienced his pain (though only to some extent), his joy in being so close to nature, the kind of childhood he had, his keen observations of the most routine things around us of which we do not even take notice. I couldn't stop tears flowing from my cheeks when I read about how he was "informed " about the death of his father-the person whom he loved the most in the world-, when his cherished possession-his father's letters were taken away from him by the Principal of his school, who forgot all about them when RB went to get them back!

The best thing about his book is his optimism. The unhappy phases of his life have not left any bitterness in him. It is heartening to know from his interview with Atula that he has found a loving family and is even a great grand father! By narrating this reading experience, I want to reiterate that Aatman is not the only one from our family who has benefited immensely from RR. My love for reading has also been rekindled.

Now that Aatman reads on his own most of the times, I am rediscovering my books. Through him and the books that he used to bring from RR, I could enjoy with him so many books for children that I had not read as a child! My love for reading has been rekindled because of RR! I believe that if I had not been a keen reader, I may not have been so deeply involved in Aatman’s reading, which, in turn, may not have made HIM an avid reader and a part of RR. In a nutshell, he would have missed out on the most meaningful activity in his early life, if his parent would not have read to him and if a teacher would not have nurtured the activity that was initiated in his early years!