Reading Day Reflections
By ChatGPT Today, June 19, is observed as National Reading Day in India. When the phone fills the time of the youth, books seem to fail in their task of filling their lives with meaning. The day, however, brings back a lot of memories to me personally. Memories of all the speeches I delivered in Sawan School, Delhi on this day exhorting my students to read books. Some memories also go back to my own reading habits, particularly my oldest treasured collections. Like Maxim Gorky’s entire works which I bought when I was in my 20s. When I was young, boredom led me and a lot many others to books. Today boredom leads us all to the mobile screen. Endless scrolling has become the default activity of our age. I am guilty too. I can assert from personal experience that reading is not merely a hobby. It is one of the most powerful tools for personal growth ever invented. A phone gives us information; a book gives us understanding. The phone bombards us with fragments: headlines, reels, me...
