What a sad day, no I am not talking about the state of
affairs or the sandstorm that just hit us and made it pitch black reminiscent
of Mummy returns but when the only book seller in my town laments the sad state
of affairs. I was buying some books yesterday and he just remarked how it is
very expensive to run the shop as no one buys books anymore.
He said in complete seriousness that a bhel puri
wallah who sets up his thela in the evening and works from 5pm to (pm makes
more in the evening then he does in a day. he was so dejected that he said that
a few days ago a society matron whom he did not want to name had come to buy a
coloring book. She bought it and then asked him for a discount and said kuch
kar do, meaning how much discount would you give? The book was 40 rupees and he
said in a sad voice that the profit is 8 rs; she can see how much she wants to
give. In fact, he spoke in a disgusted tone, that when we go eat golguppas do
we ever bargain with the hawker!
It is true, when we
go to a restaurant we never complain, in fact we flaunt the fact we ate here,
instagraming the food for more virtual recognition. But when one has to buy a
book we complain about how expensive it is. For me, its like so many books, so little
time”.
There is another saying, “the person be it gentleman
or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid’. The
ability to transport and to be teleported to the story where it is set, to
learn of foreign lands, to know about characters, plot, to be one with
another’s imagination and to be lost in the world of make- believe or history
is what books can do. I think books are magical creatures that open up a whole
new world, a vista, introducing one to history , romance, culture, travel or
science or horror or even vampires! In fact, my best companion till now is
always books. And, nothing beats a book in hard copy , in it’s truest from not
in the electronic version that is sterile and has no feeling.
I know, you think Im being weird but , a book with its
illustrative cover, and the paper used, font actually make it what it is. Be it
the classics of the bygone era, of every country thay are actually the true
carriers of civilization for u s.
Sadly , this is missing nowadays , no one reads ,
there are no lending libraries, no comic books to be traded, no mystery to
follow or murder to unravel.
Yes, books are written but the audience is missing and
is being substituted by the smart phone or the app that will tell you what it
is all about .
I do believe something magical can happen when you
read a book, JK Rowling . Magic is truly what she gave us by unleashing Harry
Potter and the world of Hogwarts. The power of the words to sway , seduce , to
transport , to make us believe is what books give. It is when we read with eagerness do we soak
in life .They are what life is made of, to raise battleships , reading books is
what sowed the seeds of freedom and gave us our martyrs, and now all we read or
skim are the paid news or the hype they want us to believe and that is also
available on an app. The day is not too far when you and I will also be an app
, downloaded only when convenient and his – story will be read online and books
will be forgotten .
For me , reading is still akin to breathing because
when I turn the pages I get something new in my memories but I also leave a
little something in the last page and funny enough they speak to me ! I wish
this lost art would be kindled again and we would reclaim all that is going
seriously with us.
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