Thursday, July 2, 2009

My first blog!



Well, im a newbie when it comes to blogging but i've been writing articles for as long as i can remeber. For my first blog im posting my only article to ever be published ( Reader's write column, Times of India, 17th april, 2008). Yeah, that was ages ago, but here it is-

OH! FOR A BOOK AND A SHADY NOOK..

Ask any kid around you what his or her favorite past time is and pat comes the reply- Watching TV, surfing the net or playing video games. In today’s world of gadgets and gaming stations, the good old habit of reading books is fast fading. I can elucidate an incident to support my statement. Once my friend came over to my place along with her little brother. As my friend and I were busily chatting away, I gave the little boy ‘Alice in the wonderland’ to keep him engaged, but to my astonishment he just made a face at me and sat in the living room happily zapping cartoon channels. It is a pity that children today prefer the idiot box to books and would rather copy matter from the net for their projects or assignments than read a few good books and compile the best content along with some genuine ideas of their own.

It is a generally accepted truth that books are meant for people belonging to all ages and coming from all walks of life. Everyone can find a genre that they enjoy-fiction, mystery, comedy, romance, horror, you name it! But, unfortunately people would rather buy expensive clothes or accessories than spend a few bucks on a good book and on the other hand those few people who are passionate about reading don’t find affordable book shops or libraries. Most libraries stock old books and the variety of books found is also poor, not to mention the dingy rooms and rickety chairs.
Some settle in for e-books and I think that is acceptable, after all something is better than nothing. But it still remains a fact that the majority of people seem to think books are a sheer waste of time, but they fail to realize that books are not only a wonderful way of spending time but also a very useful one at that. They are huge store houses of knowledge, they help us improve our language, vocabulary and teach us a lot about life

While reading a book if we can really associate ourselves with every character, feel what they feel and read between the lines, that makes the book all the more enjoyable and worthwhile. And who says books are only for assimilating knowledge, learning et al. You can read them just for fun, savoring each page like you savor your favorite chocolate.

I strongly feel that a person who has never bothered to read a single good book in his/her whole life has missed out on a wonderful experience. Thanks to J.K.Rowling, many kids have enjoyed not one but seven truly awesome books, but now that all the seven parts are out, I just hope these kids would start reading other books than drop the habit of reading altogether.

Self-help books are very useful, books like ‘Chicken soup for the soul’ series and ‘Who moved my cheese’ can work magic on us when we are in despair, they help us perceive ourselves and the people around us better. And we can also derive inspiration from the biographies of great people like Helen Keller, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and many more great personalities. The biography of Helen Keller truly inspired me. I always wonder that when she could face such life threatening disabilities and fight against all odds to succeed in life, what stops me from facing my relatively petty problems and proving my mettle?

I do agree that teenagers like me, today, are burdened with exhaustive school/college work and studies and they find it extremely difficult to find time for any other books. However, as the eternal saying goes- “Where there is a will, there is a way”, nothing can stop an aspirant reader from allocating some time for reading. My day never ends without reading at least a few pages of a book even during the hectic schedule of my ‘Intermediate’ life. I think it is very important that school children be encouraged to read good books by their teachers and parents.

A child's mind must be tuned to consider a book as a gift that he can open again and again. As for me, I am very thankful to my mother for sowing in me the seed of love for books at a very young age!

3 comments:

Sahil Kaul said...

What a blog girl..I agree to evry word of it!!!! Its da world dat has done dat to us bringing everything at our disposal..Lazy bums dat we are..But ya we shud culture da habit of reading!!

Unknown said...

yeah...i sure did mean every word i said in this article...books are a man's best friends...i'll always stand by that!!

Keerthi said...

OWO....!!! sorry i mean WOW!!! wat happened to u ra...??? inta philosophy a..?? bt ur right ra...agreed to everything.....nd the last thing...about the exams is really good..!!!