(NOT) Reading: A Grave Issue In Modern India

Last day when I went to college, I faced a problem which has been staring at our faces for a long time. It’s the difficulty of students to converse and write in English easily. My teachers were discussing as how and where to start so that this problem could be solved. This gave me the idea to write this post. Hope I would be successful in putting some insight into the issue.
The biggest issue is the reluctance to read books. Leave alone the classics, kids now even don’t like to read the comics. They better like them on the television. Whenever you ask a teenager about his reluctance in reading, he will give you the excuse that after the course books not much time is left and moreover what good would it have in our careers. So, slowly and steadily they get away from the world of books. And the issue is not just with English but also with and their respective mother tongue. It is common in the Central Board schools where students actually neglect their mother tongue.
This has given rise to the trend of people in their graduation days going for English speaking and learning classes. I can understand that students from rural areas heading to these institutes but surprisingly we find more urban students there. If this problem continues, we would lose able statesmen as it’s the communication skills of an individual which shows his/her confidence. And moreover books open a new world of knowledge to us. We shouldn’t forget that education has been patronized in this country for time eternal. Our ancestors have written books full of wisdom and intelligence especially the Vedas and Puranas. Maybe these will be too tough to read but not so with Jataka tales, Ramayana and Mahabharata which come in versions suitable for reading in early teenage to the time you die old. I know many who regularly jumble the characters of Ramayana and Mahabharata. Actually, Mahabharata is the best dramatic story you can have. It has all the flavours you have in the society. Similarly we should also try to read classics from Dickens and Shakespeare, Keats, Shelly and Wordsworth. Close home read the regional writers. I think it’s not difficult to read Chetan Bhagat atleast!!!
All said but not much can be implemented if the parents and the teachers don’t pay heed to this issue. Reading and writing habits have to be imbibed on the students at an early age. If required, attach marks to it. It’s not wrong to give some incentive. If not by will but because of the greed for those extra marks, one will start it. And as my experience goes, reading is a big addiction. You just have to provide the first book and rest would be easy. Those who don’t read actually haven’t touched a book in their lifetime!
Excellent reading habits will always help an individual to become an all-rounder. He would be a complete human being. If it’s difficult for one to read a book because of his busy schedule, he should at least read the day’s newspaper fully. I believe if one makes it a rule to read the newspaper in the morning and read a chapter of a book before going to sleep, he/she wouldn’t require any coaching class to teach you the simple art of speaking. And if one can read and speak, writing wouldn’t be much difficult. And for reading good books you need not have a PhD! From time eternal, there have been people who in spite of their inadequacies have reached larger heights just by self-educating them. Emperor Akbar is one of the classic examples of what I have said in the last line. Closer R K Laxman is another example. So, we should take cue from these fellows and help ourselves to success.
Always remember whatever you are a vegetable vendor, a scientist or a politician how you communicate shows your inner depth. So, try to increase this depth as much as possible.