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| A corner of my personal library |
If I had to make a choice
between reading and writing, I would choose reading undoubtedly. I am not much
of a writer in the first place. Nobody will miss anything even if I stop writing. Secondly, I cannot afford to miss the magical
worlds that unfold when I open books. Writers are great people. I mean good
writers. One of the present tragedies is that too many bad writers get too much
publicity and hence writing has earned a bad name. Another tragedy is that a
lot of falsehood is written today and passed off as irrefutable truths.
In spite of
all that, if you force a choice on me I’ll go for reading. I have learnt to
choose writers who are good for me (and for others as well). I know how to winnow
the grain and discard the chaff.
Right now I’m
reading two books simultaneously. One is kept in my workplace and the other is
at home. The one that I read in my free time while I’m at school is Modi’s
India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy by Christophe
Jaffrelot. The other one is by a less known writer on a subject that may not be
of much interest to quite many. It is Funeral Nights by Kynpham Sing
Nongkynrih, a bilingual writer who writes poems, novels and stories in English
and Khasi.
Both the
books enchant me in their own ways. Jaffrelot is an eminent scholar. He is the
Director of Research at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS in Paris and professor of Indian
politics and sociology at King's College, London. This new book of his is “a
no-holds-barred account of the disruptive march of democracy and governance in
India from the long-established status quo to the totalitarian ethnic style of
governance.” [Quoted from the New Indian Express review].
Funeral
Nights presents the history of the Khasi people in the form
of a fictional narrative. I wouldn’t ever have bought this book had I not lived
for fifteen long years (long because they were quite excruciating for
the most part) in Shillong in the land of the Khasi people. I knew the author
of this book personally too. I remember him as a very gentle soul with a
self-effacing smile and subtle sense of humour. But my personal association
with him was too brief for my assessment to be objective and my memory to be
reliable. I like his book anyway. I learn a lot of things about the Khasi
people from this book, things that would have stood me in good stead if I had
known them back in my Shillong days.
Knowledge.
That’s what I quest after. Mine is a Faustian quest. Reading is what fulfils
that quest. That’s why I cannot but read.
PS. This is
written for Blogchatter’s Blog
Hop: “If you had to choose between reading and writing.”
My previous post in this
series: Puzzles,
puzzles all the way
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteI too read for intellectual expansion - as you say, anything well-written and NOT apparently produced by some internet algorithm... YAM xx
Good reading is losing popularity today, I think. Most of my students don't read anything other than course material and chats on their phones!
DeleteSmart phone took much of time these days. Sometimes it's true with me also. You are reading two books simultaneously.That's really awesome sir.
ReplyDeleteSince Facebook keeps blocking me off and on, the phone doesn't take too much of my time 😊
DeleteReading, no doubt, opens the mind to magic. I appreciate the fact that you have been able to make a choice in this post, something which I could not do in mine, as both reading and writing go hand-in-hand in my case. I love both equally, I guess. :)
ReplyDeleteMany will find the choice hard, i believe.
DeleteReading... Loved the post.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteIt's nice to know that you placed reading above writing.
ReplyDeleteA personal preference, of course.
DeleteHopped in to say that your writing does add value & it will definitely be missed, at least by me. I don't comment much often but I must say, I'm a fan of your writing, and your choice of words and perspectives (though I may not agree with all of them!).
ReplyDeleteAlso, loved your clarity and conviction in choosing reading.
I know some of my views are maverick and even scandalising. But glad you articulated your opinion candidly.
DeleteYou made easy choice where people are confused for life. Nice decision.
ReplyDeleteThis was an easy choice for me. 👍
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