Books and the stories behind them Part 2

Memories of the time spent in British Council Library are numerous. It was close to my dad's workplace. It was his after -retirement  workplace and he would insist that I match my visits there (to BCL) to his office timings so that he could pick me up or drop me there on his scooter. My protests would go unheeded and I sometimes missed going to BCL with my friends as a result of this. But that's a different story reserved for another blog.

Coming back to the books I borrowed and read from BCL Winston Graham comes to mind. Recently when I googled him, I found that he is better known for his Poldark series, but it was his other novels that I avidly read.

Marnie, After the Act, The Sleeping Partner, Cordelia and more... the titles are hazy. My friends at that time were into Mills & Boon and one of them thought I had no idea of what romantic stories was about. Till one day she took a Graham novel to read from me and came back totally flabbergasted. She said she was shocked at the storyline and more surprised that a serious person like me who read only classics would read such literature.

While she could do that, M & B were strictly forbidden at home. They were considered sleaze. I was so curious about them that a friend in school gave me one to read reassuring me that there were "good" ones too. She was a topper in class and I was convinced. But yet had to hide the book from my parents & read. Soon I gave up, reading something in fear of being caught was just not worth it. I could hardly get past a few pages.

I wept reading some books... the one I clearly remember was A J Cronin's " The Spanish Gardener" . It was a sad tale of an over strict father getting his son to a psychiatrist because the boy formed a special bond of friendship with a Spanish Gardener who worked for them. At some point of the book I remember putting it down and having a good cry.

Around this time due to the untimely, sudden death of my sister, I was drawn to books that could offer  solace and meaning to the grief I was experiencing. I read a lot of poems of Shelley and even read about his life in detail. Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund was another memorable one. It briefly introduced me to the teachings of the Buddha & meditation practices. Curious about meditation I read J Krishnamurthi with great interest, thoroughly intrigued with the occult practices in  the Theosophical Society. I remember poring over Krishnamurthi's Notebook that I found at BCL

Krishnamurthi was not exactly welcome at home with my parents, strange it was , as they would permit my sisters to read him.

I remember having serious intense discussions with a friend at that time on whether Hesse was or had inclinations towards homosexuality. According to her, his writings clearly gave that impression - that he was inclined towards it but suppressed it. And a man who was so suppressed had nothing much to offer. She also introduced me to William Golding's Lord of the flies.  I struggled to read it, unable to accept that little kids could turn so violent and become cannibals. 

One book that stands out towards the end of my teens is "Dibs: In search of Self" by Virginia Axline. It was heavy reading.. A true life tale of a boy labelled autistic & retarded, who through the process of play therapy is able to work out his emotional relations with his parents and find his authentic self. He goes on to have an  IQ of 168 (genius) at the end of the therapy sessions with Axline.

That book left a remarkable impression on me and till today it is a must- read for all my students in Psychology classes that I teach. It was also a book that helped me decide what course of study I would pursue for my Masters  degree. 

To continue..