Stranded with a Good Book

Have you ever been stuck at the airport waiting for the weather to clear so that your flight can take off? That was the situation I was in recently, and thank goodness I had a good book to keep my mind off of the wait. In fact, the book I was reading transported me to India rather than Chicago which was my desired destination.

Kashmira Sheth, the author of Keeping Corner, tells the story of Leela, a widow at the age of twelve. In fact, Leela was engaged at age two, married at age ten and just before her anu ceremony, her husband was bitten by a poisonous snake. When Leela's husband died, she was looked upon as bad luck. She needed to spend a year keeping corner, which was an Indian tradition. During this year, Leela could not go out of the house, had to wear drab clothing and keep her head shaved. According to Indian tradition, Leela was to not marry again.

Can you imagine what life was like for Leela? Although things looked grim, Leela's brother fought for her right to an education and this opened new doors for her. This break with tradition occurred as Ghandi was encouraging the Indian people to break with tradition and fight against English oppression.

I learned quite a bit about Indian traditions and history while I waited for the flight departure to be announced. What good books have helped you through a long wait?