Reading books is a highly beneficial activity, but not many students in Kashmir read books outside their syllabus. Ibrahim Wani reports the experiences of two book lovers. 

I did not read anything except course books until 2 years ago, says Mehraj, a university student. He read his first non-syllabus book only when he completed his graduation. Today he is a book buff. “If I am not reading a book, I feel incomplete now,” he says. Mehraj’s first book was Curfewed Night. He instantly took to reading. “I completed the book in just three days.”

The book developed his interest into the literary world. He started exploring. The next book, which caught his attention, was God of Small Things. “A number of people were talking about the book, so I just went and purchased it.” Mehraj did not regret the purchase. “The book is a masterpiece,” he says. Since these two books, he has moved on and read a number of other books, like the Reluctant Fundamentalist, and even picking up a Chomsky.

“I sometimes ask myself the question that why did I not read a book like this earlier… But then there was hardly anyone to guide me in this,” he says.

Like Mehraj, Muhammad Zuhaib enjoys reading books. But unlike him, he read his first book when he was in 4th standard. “I started with Round the Clock stories by Enid Blyton.” This book was a birthday present by a cousin.

Reading soon developed into a hobby. By the time he passed his class 10th exam it was more than a hobby. “Books became very important,” he says. So much so that he had to face active opposition from his parents who thought that he was wasting his time. “Many times my mother would hide the book I was reading,” he says. Zuhaib is in his final year of engineering today.

When Zuhaib went to engineering college, he saw no one who read books other than what the syllabus prescribed. “Then came one book which changed it all. It was Five Point Someone,” he says. The book introduced by Zuhaib in the college, has not still come back to him. “It has been read by more than 100 students now.

Since then I have had to part with a number of other books.” Zuhaib sees this as a welcome development, which has brought with itself many positive results. “The effect is seen directly on the language skills. There is a lot of improvement, and people now write much better English.”

“This has helped the communication skills of students and will be particularly handy at the time of job interviews,” adds Zuhaib.

Mehraj says books not only improves communication skills, but “it enlightens you and develops your mind as well as aptitude”. “It enlarges your thought process which is a must for any person. It opens the mind.”

Both Mehraj and Zuhaib however contend that reading books is still confined to a minority in Kashmir. According to Password bookshop, fiction and non-fiction books contribute just 10 to 15 percent of the overall book sales.
Mehraj feels that at many times youngsters are put-off by the complex books they try to read in the beginning. “It is like trying to run, when you do not know how to walk. Start with simple books first,” he advises. “I started liking reading because I began with a simple book.”       
   
One more reason for unpopularity of reading as a hobby is because it is seen as a distraction. “Most of the people particularly students see it as a diversion from studies, even though they spend hours watching TV or or on Facebook,” says Zuhaib. These activities according to him hardly aid any development. “Reading a book is an active mental process. It develops concentration, focus, vocabulary, as well as memory,” adds Mehraj.

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