By S.Ahsan
It is a fact that habit of book reading is fading away, and it is getting very common too. As we see the young generation of the this century is glued to the television, surfing or chatting on the internet, hung to their mobile phones or just wasting their time in no activity at all. Hardly a few are seen reading a book.
There are a number of reasons to this decline; firstly the electronic media has developed massively so that people have a variety of channels to choose entertainment, information and news leaving no time to read a quality book. Children see their elders as a role model but unfortunately they are not given such models. Parents just don’t pay attention and to get rid of hustle to provide quality time to their children they let them watch cartoons all day, at last children are addicted to cartoons and gameboys. Cartoons of today are no use for learning and contribute nothing positive.
Secondly, there are a few public libraries which are hardly located. One has easy access to internet café or gaming zones which are more interactive. If any library found, the books are not updated and are in shabby and old conditions.
Reading is the best activity when it comes to leisure time. A book is considered as a best friend. A book helps develops an individuals mind, it feeds the mind whereas television feeds the beliefs presented on it. It broadens the mind to think beyond one’s imagination. Reading a fiction, novel or poetry gives pleasure to its readers.
One more aspect of decline is the high prices of books. This including the less number of public libraries or dearth of libraries has also discouraged the habit of reading. Book cost more than Rs 200. Then it is virtually impossible for a person belonging to a low income family to afford such expensive books. On the contrary computer games CD costs upto Rs 30 and 40, so it's easier and cheaper for parents to busy their children. Parents are mostly busy to earn for their family. Even now private school fees are high as well as their books are getting expensive and only less amount of syllabus studied. This gap isn’t even filled by school and public libraries which are hardly found.
Parents don’t place emphasis on reading a book other than school’s work. They should take sometime out from their busy schedule and teach their children to read as well as they should read to them aloud on daily basis and have discussion about it. This environment will encourage the love for reading apart from their course books.
Book fairs are great to start with, when children see colorful illustrated books soon their charm for reading will develop. Just buy them a book, when they are done with it, buy another one. Believe me books will help them think beyond and broaden their minds to be a better human being.
