At a recent literature fest I attended, a prominent writer had a valuable piece of advice to the youth in the audience—read, read, read. Reading has been a time-tested tool to expand mental horizons, acquire knowledge, and perspectives and add punch to verbal expression. It was the default option for many of us growing up in earlier decades. Those days, we did not have many other forms of entertainment—reading was the most common immersive experience. But for the youth today, especially the urban youth who have access to multiple platforms for information and amusement, reading a book unrelated to their curriculum can be quite a challenge. As such, the mandatory reading required in academic courses can be rigorous. That in itself demands long hours. Unless the outcomes of other kinds of reading are seen as rewarding, I think it is unlikely that reading will become a priority in the lives of the present generation.
While the presence of too many distractions hinders reading for certain sections of society, many others, especially in rural areas, are deprived of access to even basic reading resources. Recently, government schools in Tamil Nadu have started a Vasippu Iyakkam (reading movement) to encourage students to pursue their reading interests and learn outside the classroom.
When I happened to visit a government school at a small village called Shoolagiri recently, the enthusiasm of the students for this new project was palpable. Many well-meaning citizens came together to contribute books for the cause. The sparkle in the eyes of the youngsters as they leafed through the pre-loved books, even when the books seemed difficult to comprehend, was noticeable. But as one of the persons involved in the project pointed out, it is not enough to donate books, it is also necessary to mentor students. To guide and encourage the pupils, many of whom were first-generation learners, to navigate this brave new world of books that would ultimately benefit them.
The marked decline in the time youngsters spend reading books has been widely documented. The biggest contributing factor for this appears to be the lack of spare, unstructured time. Shorter attention spans expecting constant audio-visual inputs, too, have made reading less attractive. The option of surfing the internet for information and solutions has given rise to a ‘scrolling culture’. The flipside is that much of the content accessed online is the product of superficial knowledge, and does not trigger an in-depth understanding of a subject. On the other hand, reading a book and constructing an image in the mind is a cognitive act that leads to comprehension and interpretation. To soak in ideas and be influenced by them can be a life-changing event. Mahatma Gandhi, for instance, was so deeply inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s essay on civil disobedience that it changed his life and the destiny of our nation. Reading can prove to be a voyage that opens several gateways.
The irony is that while reading is definitely not in vogue, content creation for social media is a booming business. We live in a world of multiple literacies. Posts on Instagram and X attract followers whose views and likes are an instant endorsement. Writing has also adapted to the limits of those platforms—shorts such as flash fiction, drabble and micro poetry have emerged to engage readers.
While the virtues of brevity cannot be overstated, many of us have read and related to expansive works of fiction too. To be swept into the throes of a well-knit plot, entangle ourselves in the joys and trials of fictional strangers, and watch the protagonist emerge triumphant or wiser at the end has been unfailingly rewarding. This process of involvement with imagination has sown the seeds of empathy and kinship in many of us. While the value of such reading cannot be measured in terms of utility, it has the potential to be a game changer in life.
The question is whether active measures to promote reading will recreate the same magic for the younger generation? The trends are there for all to see. There are bookshops and browsers, reading circles and conclaves of the literati in almost every major city. E-readers beat lugging around heavy books. Books may have lost their sheen but they will never fade away. They will adapt to millennial and Gen Z lifestyles. Audio books, podcasts and the Kindle reader in the familiar voice of Alexa hold great appeal for youngsters. To draw a parallel, oral traditions like story-telling or theatre forms like puppetry have managed to hang around tenaciously in spite of the avalanche of television shows and films. They still retain a relevance.
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The access to libraries has historically been a privilege of the educated, urban population. Therefore, setting up of reading centres and libraries in villages and smaller towns will benefit students and educationists in those areas. Reading as a culture will survive with the active involvement of those who can commit themselves to the cause. To reach out to youngsters using social media groups and online platforms is a good way to spread the word.
Passive reading on a Sunday afternoon, snoozing with a book flipped beside you is a sheer pleasure. Once the taste for reading is acquired, it normally lasts a lifetime. I know of many senior citizens who eagerly await the morning newspaper; their daily quota of reading includes obituaries. Perhaps it helps them ponder over the transitory nature of existence. My mother, at the doughty age of 92, is one such newspaper addict, much to the amusement of the rest of the family. She seems determined to extract every rupee’s worth from the pages and emerges well-informed and armed with a few new opinions each day.
(ravichandran.geetha@gmail.com)
Geetha Ravichandran
Former bureaucrat and
author most recently of The Spell of the Rain Tree