Text and the times

Is reading culture declining? May be, may be not. We don’t have any conclusive answers in terms of statistical confirmation. But there is a genuine worry among elders that youngsters are now given to screens than to pages. The time we now consume glued to screens is adversely impacting our interest in genuine reading.  A story in this newspaper on the subject underlines some finer points in this debate.  Kashmir’s known bookstores are finding it difficult to stay in competition as people prefer digital medium to the paper medium. That is a fact hard to escape. But even in this apparently depressing moment there are some signs of renewed interest in book reading. The fact that a bookstore in Srinagar reopens just because some people insist, is very heartening.

Now, in the backdrop of this story the question that pops up, and is very relevant for the government and the society is this: how can we enhance reading habits in our students?  The choice of medium may still be debatable, but as long as reading habit stays, we can stand assured that our students can commit themselves to serious reading and subsequent reflection.

Beyond nostalgia, it is the job of parents to create small spaces within homes that can serve as reading spaces. These spaces should be well maintained and parents should themselves be a part of this space. It is here that love for reading takes root. Next comes schools. Apart form routine class work, schools should lay emphasis on reading. This can happen if school curriculum adopts reading as central to student growth. Unfortunately, we consider libraries and reading rooms as extras in our educational institutions. The entire focus is on classrooms and a daily drill guided by timetables.  Neither our teachers take interests in reading, nor do our students find it attractive.

Apart from families and schools, one would also suggest that all government offices, from top to bottom have reading spaces, and a must-read list for employees. It may sound weird to some, but it can have a miraculous effect on the overall atmosphere. Reading humanises, and that is what we need in these times of screens and algorithms.