Nothing else than the cliche”A book is the best friend one can have in life”better explains the importance reading has in one’s life.As the famous Assamese author Homen Borgohain puts it,”when every other person deserts you, it’s books that still stand by your side, to support you in your moments of isolation,to elate you in your moments of despair¹…”. While at first sight,this might seem an exaggeration,on proper analysis this turns out to be best description of the role reading plays in one’s life. All good writers were good readers. As the author Shailesh Lodha puts it “To write one book, you need to read ten”².In every field, it is reading that empowers us not only with information but also through inculcation of diverse view points. It is through reading that we get to know the worldview of people long dead. It is through reading that we can enjoy the chillness of Kashmir valleys, the dryness of the deserts of Rajasthan as well as the adventures of the deep jungles around the world all from the comfort of our home.
However,in the race for development, the younger generation seems to have foregone reading. Most of us read because we have to. For most of us reading has turned into a mere medium of earning a good job and hence a handsome pay. And the blame for this is not only on the younger generation themselves but also on the context they dwell on.Today, we live in an era of distraction; smartphones, laptops, video games, and what not.To add to that is the increasing pressure of academics. The craze for competitive exams be it JEE, NEET, UPSC CSE, etc. has turned reading into a necessity rather than a choice, so much so that the youth of today dreads reading. Reading indiscriminately or for pleasure seems to be a bygone concept. Like every other important thing of our lives,reading is also drawn via utility.Reading is now based on it’s utility;you read something only if that yeilds ‘marks’ for you. And the parents and teachers share no less blame in this regard. It is not hard nowadays to find parents scolding their wards for reading novels, or non-fiction which is not necessarily part of their syllabus. Or for teachers to dictating their students to strictly follow only the textbook.As the historian Rudrangshu mukherjee puts it, “..why should reading something be useful. …why study should be utility driven…if that’s so, then why would someone read,say philosophy or a classical language”³.And as Prof Purushottam agarwal remarks, this increasing emphasis on utility, productivity is fast turning us to robots⁴. Thus it’s through reading that we inculcate the human values. It is through reading positive literature that one is humanised.
As a part of this young generation it is our utmost duty to save this reading habit from going to decay. As if reading is lost the whole lot we inherited from our forefathers will also be lost for eternity.It is reading through which the ideas of our past generation is carried on to us, and this is what makes us unique from all other species. Lost will be the axioms of Euclid, theories of aristotle, histories of starbo, Findings of aryabhatta. There should be no bar on reading.It’s via reading through which the ideas of our past generation is carried on to us, and this is what makes us unique from all other species. The role of audio books and ebooks is very critical in popularising the reading habit among the young generation. While a paperback is still the best, if use of audiobooks and ebooks enhances reading that be so. As denjioping puts it, “it doesn’t matter whether it’s a Black cat or white cat, if it can catch mice, it’s a good cat¹” . At the end, let me convey this:no matter how much technology advance the feeling you have with a book in your hand while your head rests on the pillow on your bed is the best you can have. Don’t believe me! Try it for yourself
