Pastoral nostalgia

Growing up as an only child in a cramped suburban apartment, books were often an escape. While I have amassed a collection, the one loss I feel deeply is that of an old tattered children’s book of Heidi by Johanna Spyri. Having received it as a birthday gift, it was a constant companion. The optimism of Heidi, a little orphan girl sent away to live by herself with a harsh grandfather, the struggle of living on a farm, her bickering with the goatherd Peter and discovering independence was too relatable. Such that even in my late 20s, the anime-series Heidi, Girl Of the Alps, by Isao Takahata became a way to relive the pastoral nostalgia. Till date, I return to the book as an escape from the cynicism of the world.
Shriram Iyengar