Music or Books?!!

I am an avid reader, a voracious reader, my life WAS and IS books. As a kid, I would dream about studying in schools like Malory Towers or St. Claire’s, belong to super groups like the Famous Five and Secret Seven or just wish against all odds that the tree closest to my house would turn into the “Faraway Tree.”

As the Enid Blyton phase of my life got over, I entered the “Hardy Boys” and the “Nancy Drew” phase. My friends and I actually started believing that we were Nancy, George, and Bess (the three characters in the Drew series). And my friends still pull my leg over my crush on Frank Hardy (the elder of the two Hardy brothers).

As I grew up, the books changed and so did the authors. I ventured into the dark lives of the women protagonists of Sidney Sheldon, loved the way Jeffrey Archer presented the lurid details of the lives of politicians, reveled in the accomplishments of doctors in medical thrillers by Robert Cook, and basically just enjoyed reading the crime investigations and whodunit stories by David Baldacci and James Patterson, legal dramas by John Grisham, horror stories by Stephen King, and became a fan of “The Bourne Series” by Robert Ludlum. In between all this, I did try a few Mills & Boons. This I did only because high school girls have more curiosity than cats!!!

But, something changed in me. Like most people, I became a part of the “iPod generation” as we call it now. Books were replaced by music cassettes, music files, music CDs, MP3 players, and finally the much-desired and much-addictive iPod Nano. Music has always been an important part of my life (after books though), but I found myself losing the satiety I had for books. I have always been a fan of hard rock and metal, and with more and more bands coming up, and numerous concerts happening in Bangalore, books somehow took a backseat. The radio, too, contributed to this change in my attitude.

It was not that I stopped reading completely, I did read, but to a much lesser extent than what I used to. It was so much easier to put the ear phones on and lose myself in the “November Rain” or feel all kicked just listening to Enigma, U2, Led Zeppelin, Rammstein and Bruce Springsteen. I have, in fact given my dad heart attacks just playing “Phantom of the Opera” on the stereo. All he has to say even now is “You call that NOISE music??!!!” I just pretend I don’t hear him amidst all that “MUSIC.”

I used to tell myself that I would get back to reading, make it number one on my priority list of “things to do during leisure,” but let me tell you, iPod IS addictive, and I am slowly realizing that I am becoming a gizmo freak due to this. But, amidst all this chaos and confusion about which is the number one on the billboard list, I started reading “Shantaram” by Gregory David Roberts. I must admit at this point, that I have never read books by Indian authors, or books which featured characters based in India itself. But, this book was un-put-downable!! I totally identified with the characters, they were so HUMAN!!

Thus, I found my re-entry into the book world. I realized how much I missed books, how much I missed the debates I used to have with myself about certain views expressed by the writer, how much I used to laugh at the characters, how much I used to become a part of the story. I missed not knowing or guessing “what’s going to happen next in the murder investigations,” I missed the satisfied feeling after finishing a book and knowing FINALLY who the killer was!!

I, now, make time for both my passions – Music and Books (not necessarily in that order). I listen to music when I am reading!!! I have just realized that I can’t breathe without BOTH!!

By Hajira Farhin