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“All that mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books. They are the chosen possession of man.” (Thomas Carlyle)
These words of Thomas Carlyle always have a nostalgic effect on me as they take me back to my childhood days and the wonderful world of books.
What is my memory of a book? The first book that I can remember is my English language reader, Steps to English: Book One, which we used in the first grade. I just found out that it was written by Doris Kernan for elementary school students learning English as a foreign language. The book is out of print now. Come to think of it, I remember my first day at school, when our teacher taught us the word Hello. That is the very first word that I remember. The image of the word written in pink colour is still imprinted on my mind.
As a child, I used to read the Children’s Page in local newspaper. My siblings and I used to compete with each other to wake up early in order to grab this magazine before anyone else did! Interesting stories, facts, poems and jokes made this Children’s Page a great read. Through my friend, I was introduced to children’s magazines, such as Bachchon Ka Bagh and Bachchon Ki Duniya, which mostly
contained fairytales. In contrast to these were magazines like Naunehal (in publication since 1953), Taleem-o-Tarbiyat and Tot Batot, which published stories related to everyday life of a child. These magazines also contained informative material along with poems and jokes. Reading them inspired me to write my own stories and poems.
My very first memory of a library is from my childhood days. We were lucky to have one at our community school. I am proud to say that I watched it grow with time. Our librarian, Sakina aunty, was a great teacher and librarian. She established that library on a few shelves. I vividly remember that she used to encourage young kids to help her clean the covers and pages of the library books. The image of her sitting on the floor, with brown paper and plastic sheets spread around her, is still fresh in my mind. Now that I think about it, I realize that she taught us how to take care of books. We used to help her cover the books by providing her scissor and scotch tape. Later on, she started assigning us the task of covering the books with brown paper. Helping her with the library work was the activity that I wanted never to end!
When I was in the third grade, I received an Academic Achievement Award
which brought a one-year free membership to another library. That proved to be a great gift. It was then that I started reading English books. I remember reading Richie Rich comics and children’s version of Sherlock Holmes Case Book. Needless to say, I renewed my membership for the next year. A commendable strategy adopted by our school administration was to give books (such as dictionaries and historic stories) as a prize to top scorers in each class.
Back in the 1980’s, children’s small story books cost one rupee. It used to be a big amount for a school-going kid but children still bought those books. We used to share them with each other to get more benefit from them. There were not many libraries where we lived. However, there used to be small shops that worked as ‘street libraries’. Most of the times, these street libraries worked in small makeshift cabins. You went there and got the books on hourly rent. It was through these street libraries that I was introduced to a variety of children’s literature. It also inspired us kids to create our own library! All the children from our building collected their storybooks, numbered them and issued them free of cost to other children. To me, it was more of a fascination with the library than with the books. Sharing of books was a bi-product of this adventure. Gone are those street libraries that once did a great service to children.
In my early teens, I started reading children’s novels. The novels that I got from fellow kids included my personal favourites Chhay Buray Larkay (Six Bad Boys), by Aftab Ahmed, and Daastan-e Ameer Hamzah (The Story of Ameer Hamzah).
There was another great book titled Mujh Per Kya Guzri, with the story
revolving around a family’s ordeal during the Indopak partition days. And, of course, how can I ever forget the famous novel Mera Naam Mungoo Hai (My Name is Mungoo).
Through my siblings, I was introduced to the detective novels of Ishtiaq Ahmed. These novels were a craze among children at that time. The kids remembered the favourite sentences of the characters from the book. ‘Jalti hai meri jooti’ and ‘Dhat teray ki’ are just to name a few. These novels were not only a great read but were also a good source of learning Urdu language. Every month, there used to be four books from the Ishtiaq Ahmed series. And who can ever forget the khaas (special) number – a huge novel involving more than one team going through a suspense-filled adventure.
I was also fortunate to have a library period at school. Our teacher used to bring a storybook and make some of us read out excerpts from it. In our school, we had large cupboards filled with books. As a class representative, I was assigned the duty to get a selection of books from these cupboards. It was then that I realized what a treasure we had stuffed in the cupboards standing tall in our school corridors. The cupboards were full of classics from Urdu literature. However, these books were being wasted instead of being put to use. Being a government school, there was no proper library. The books were probably from the time when it used to be a private school. During those years, I read books by authors like Krishan Chandra. I must also mention the great textbooks that we had. The English and Urdu readers introduced me to the great poets and authors of English and Urdu language through the excerpts of their work. This experience kindled my interest in literature.
Later on, I became a member of a community library. The collection that this library had was quite rich. There was a large variety of books available for people of all ages. From great literary works of Urdu and English to Mills & Boon novels, the library had them all. Senior citizens, who couldn’t read English or Urdu, also had a chance to enjoy the pleasures of reading thanks to the Gujarati books and magazines.
College days brought some new experiences. This is when I had the chance to read the books by critics. Tehseen-e-Urdu used to be my regular companion. English novels read as part of the college course included The Prisoner of Zenda and The Count of Monte Cristo. Excerpts from the works of well-known authors also proved to be good exposure to different genres. As time passed and I met more people, my horizons widened. I started reading the works of Khalil Jibran, Nawal El Saa’dawi, Paulo Coelho and Terry Pratchett, and the list goes on and on.
Do children read books nowadays? If not, what are the reasons behind this change? Are we too immersed in watching TV, visiting restaurants and playing computer games? Have books lost their charm or are we suffering from literary blindness? Are there any books available for children? Are there any avenues to provide an environment conducive to developing reading habits of our children? Do we, as teachers, introduce our students to books? Do we read books ourselves? Do we, as parents, involve our children in book reading activity or are we happy with using the TV and the computer as babysitters? These are some of the questions that come to my mind whenever I read about the dying habit of book reading in our society.
What can we do to overcome these challenges? There are many factors that affect a person’s reading habits. In my case, all of my family members are avid readers. My father and my brother always had cupboards full of books on different topics. My sister’s cupboard has rows of travelogues. My friends have also played a major role in introducing me to the various genres of books. The early exposure to formal and informal libraries also played a pivotal role in kindling my interest in books. This includes the membership of the British Council Library which provided me access to the books that were either not readily available in the market or were too expensive for a student like me.
If you are a teacher, encourage your students to read books. Help them develop an appreciation for books. Parents and school administrators also share this responsibility. Let the children see what is available to them. Without knowing about the available options, they do not stand a fair chance at making a decision of which books to choose and whether or not to opt for the books in the first place!
Publishers can also help by publishing low-cost books for children. The government can contribute by providing subsidies to the publishers for lowering the cost of printing. Publishing houses can organize book fairs at private as well as public schools. These book fairs can become even more beneficial if children’s families are also invited. Writers can also help by writing books targeted to specific age groups. Private sector organizations and individuals can help by establishing small libraries especially in the low-income areas. The role of community-owned libraries is also critical. Recently, the Oxford University Press’s Library Bus has emerged as an interesting model; however, more needs to be done to publicize this initiative among the masses. On an individual level, we can support existing libraries by regularly donating books to them. This includes donations by authors and publishing houses.
My school teacher, (Late) Ms. Momina, once asked us, ”What do you feel when you see an open book?” Her own response to that question was, “I feel like the open book is welcoming me with open arms, calling me to come and see what it has to offer to me!” Let us do our bit to provide our children with the opportunity to enjoy and learn from the magical world of books.
(c) Kirtan-3d @ deviantart.com
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