Growing up on airbases across India, far removed from big cities, I had a wonderful childhood – full of sports and a busy social life: birthday parties, dinners, potlucks by the ATC to watch night flying.
The Officers’ Mess
One institution mattered to almost everyone on the airbase: the Officers’ Mess. It housed, among other things, a bar, a library, a billiards room, a TV room and a gym. I was too short for the billiards table, too young to be let anywhere near the bar, and the TV room only ever seemed to be playing the same Chitrahaar on Doordarshan that I could already watch at home. That left the library as the one place kids like me could actually sit through the long parties. That, combined with my Amma’s own love of reading, is what got me started on my reading journey.
An Early Start
It began with Champak and Tinkle comics, then moved on to Archie, the Hardy Boys and Agatha Christie. Every visit meant getting a few books issued on Appa’s name and reading through them. It was here that my AVGeek streak went into a whole new orbit, thanks to Jane’s international reference books – big, heavy volumes packed with dense text and beautiful photographs.
Cable Television, and Books Anyway
When cable television arrived in India in 1991 and everyone got hooked on their TV sets, my reading carried on undisturbed. The one exception was my lifelong dislike of schoolbooks – English and Hindi aside. Before the internet, books and libraries were still the only real way to learn about the world.
A Habit for Life
In college, I kept borrowing from the library. If it had text on it and I could read the script, I read it – the gift of reading truly is remarkable. My imagination and those books took me on more than a few extraordinary journeys.
I became a father in early 2026. I hope I can pass on the joy of reading to my daughter, the same way my Amma passed it on to me.