Before I let you know about my favourite book, let me know you one of my childhood stories!
I was born and brought up in a small village in Kathiawar Region and resources were less during those times. My father had a strong belief of not keeping a television in the house and that led to the all-round development of both of us: me and my younger brother. We were being delivered newspaper regularly. My family was one of the few families in the village who were getting newspapers.
The school was the most exciting place to be during the day. Along with classes, we were used to playing quick games during the recesses. Plantation, campus cleaning and store management were also some of the activities I always participated enthusiastically.
My school had a wast library and that was almost unused until one of my cousins didn't enter the school as a teacher. He made a small but huge contribution. He started coming to the schools 30 minutes before the prayer time. Initially, most of the days were spent on managing the dead stock registers and library management. He sorted all the books and arranged in different categories. Then he made a move. He called interested students of each class one by one. Like Std 4 was supposed to come on Monday, then Std 5 on Tuesday and so on. He started displaying small comic books by Amar Chitra Katha and asked to choose any book for a week. We did that interestingly and started reading those books. Those were very informative comics mainly on Indian Historical figures and their lives in simple words. We kept reading...
Being his family person brought me special advantages. I started sitting with each class. Means every day going to school early by half an hour and getting a new book daily. That was the time... I read all the comics soon. Then he told me to visit him only on Saturdays!! And offered me to take away any no of books I could read in a week. And I started reading 30 -35 books in a week! Which undoubtedly made me a little monk in no time :)
Now, while writing this book, I have completed more than 1800 books so far and I am still counting! I am so happy and proud of this virtue. And I am thankful to my cousin, who is a principal now; Indrasinh Mori for sculpturing my future in this unique way.
A Survival Guide for Life
People know Bear Grylls as just as an avid adventurer and a person who can eat anything to survive. To me, he is more than that. Bear is a bright army veteran who served in special forces for years. He and Shara are an ideal couple. Apart from being a television anchor, Bear Grylls is a successful businessman, a philosopher and a wonderful author. He is a one in all combo pack in many aspects.
Till 2014, I was knowing him just for his show “Man vs Wild”, but later on I heard that he is appointed as the global president of Scouts & Guides. Then I searched about him and that led me to his one of the lesser-known book – A Survival Guide for Life.
Reading the title, you would have thought of being it a book of survival skills and knowledge of how to stay alive in any conditions, but that is not about it. The book is a wonderful self-help cum philosophical inspiration. I found a different bear in this book.
He has beautifully described his experiences and struggles in this book with morals that he achieved from those adversities. His life is full of ups and downs and he has bravely sailed over each touch waves.
The best thing I found about this book is that there are small chapters and beautiful graphical arrangements of the typography. There are more than 75 chapters I think, and no chapter is more than 5-6 pages. Each word of this book boosts me whenever I go through it.
This is not a one time read book, or a book that you should read in a single or two seatings. Not at all. This is like nectar, you must enjoy it day by day, chapter by chapter. Go slow as much as you can go, but do not lose the virtue of any word written in this book.
Before some years, this book was not available in India. I got it from a friend studying in Switzerland. Now it's available on Amazon also. Till now, I have bought more than 5 copies… all are circulating and even I have forgotten whom I have given to read it. But now I have purchased a kindle copy for me, so that
I can read it whenever I feel.
I am reading this book 6th time nowadays! It's a kind of daily motivation - and little of prescription for the mind.
It would not be great to say anything about this book. I suggest all my fellow volunteers, friends and followers read this book. It will help you to think about you, about your life, about your goals in life and motivate you to take actions to change! However I could not resist myself from quoting some of the best lines.
May you get a lot many struggles in your life like Bear Grylls did have, and may you stand out of all odds being an Invincible! Jai Hind!
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