I still remember the days when my grandfather took me to the government library to borrow a couple of books to keep me engaged. I was 10 years old then and I probably took a day or two to complete the books before visiting the library again. It was those books that gave me company during my holidays. Initially I was obsessed with reading only comics and books with pictures, but soon I progressed to reading lengthy stories and by the time I was in eighth grade, I was familiar with Asimov, Bradbury, Maugham and O Henry. Now I prefer to read more non-fiction than fiction, but I still consider books my best companions. However, this is not the case with modern children. They no longer spend their holidays with their books. And research studies support my belief.
It is almost two years since the National Book Trust, based on a survey, declared that three- fourths of India’s literate youth do not read any kind of books. The only books they read are textbooks. Reading as a habit has been declining slowly during the last two decades, they would rather spend time with gadgets like mobile phones, laptops, iPods and on social networking sites. The gadgets with their images and sounds were seen as great substitutes for books. Parents took great pride in informing their friends and relatives that their kids could operate a computer. It took a while for them to realise the kind of negative impact these gadgets have on their children. But the younger generation has moved away from books.
The importance of reading has always been stressed. In spite of its proven benefits, people prefer to spend time on other and more interesting pastimes. One of my friends believes that it is the older generation that should own the responsibility for the present status of our children. They should have introduced the reading habit to the young minds. In retrospect I thought there was some truth in his contention. But I was forced to think otherwise when I visited the book fair. It was a huge crowd. Parents and children thronged the stalls. The number of stalls was also big. When you see that kind of patronage for a book fair you will certainly believe that reading as a habit is doing great. But the survey results say something else. Maybe visiting a book fair is more of a fad and books are being bought just for display on drawing room shelves.
Globally, it is learnt that reading as a habit is diminishing. Western countries have been contemplating ways and means to inculcate the habit of reading among the younger age group. Libraries are kept open round the clock and books are even placed in telephone booths to encourage reading. With a growing number of individuals reading e-books or using apps the number of people using printed books is a big question. Hamburg trend researcher Prof Dr Peter Wippermann says, “The old cultural technique of reading will survive but it will be applied differently. In everyday life, reading on paper will disappear.” However, people like Stephen Fry believe, ‘Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs by elevators.’ So we do not need to be bothered as long reading happens through any media. Maybe we need to worry about what people read. ‘It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations — something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are different from their own.’ said Katherine Patterson, an American author known for children’s novels.
Nevertheless, I believe it is our duty to educate the future generation and make them realise the importance of reading. ‘Babies are born with the instinct to speak, the way spiders are born with the instinct to spin webs. You don’t need to train babies to speak; they just do. But reading is different.’
Source | http://www.newindianexpress.com/
