Bookworms in a new avatar

Who says book reading is in the wane? It's alive and kicking though the reading itself may have morphed into a new format. Ritusmita Biswas takes a look at the changed world of book reading

Akansha Patra, 7, loves to read her interactive Fisher Price story book. For tech savvy Nirav Mahapatra, an IIM grad who is a self proclaimed techie, book reading is all about buying relevant e-books from Amazon and reading them in his laptop in his leisure time. Prtayasha Mahani, a New York based banker, prefers carrying her Kindle with her so that she can read her books on her way to work. Amitabh Mohan, an ad agency copywriter, is a regular participant in literary fests as he feels the stimulating discussions and author interactions in such festivals pump up his adrenalin and propel him to read more books.

Though the current popular notion is that books are not being read anymore it seems that there is still a large section of the populace who continue to do so, albeit in a different fashion. In this essentially audio visual era books are being celebrated like never before. There is a spurt of literary fests as well as innovations in the form and way a book is read. So be it using the Amazon Kindle, or attending an interactive book reading session at a literary fest or using audiovisual aids to facilitate and enhance the reading experience, it seems unlikely that books will go out of fashion soon, even in this digital era.

An increasing number of young people are reading books, albeit in a different fashion. Agrees Devi Kar, eminent educationist and principal of Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata: "My own direct experience is that young people still read books. We mustn't forget that even before the invasion of electronic media, there were ´readers´ and ´non-readers´. I doubt that the reading section can be lured away from books so easily."

She is seconded by award winning US-based author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni who points out that "book reading is alive and well--and taking on new forms and energy. The internet, e-books, PDF as well as good old fashioned curl-up-in-bed books--all give us more options to incorporate reading into our busy lives. "

Author Rimi B Chatterjee opines that change in the form of book reading would for sure enhance the book reading experience and to an extent it points out that the future of book reading is not bleak. Chatterjee who had uploaded her first novel in a blog and several other sites including Kindle as an e-book feels that "Electronic excerpts and full texts sharpen people´s desire to own the real thing. If we can preview books in this way, we will spend less on books that will disappoint us, and only buy those which promise us a worthwhile reading experience."

As intelligent shopping becomes the order of the day, the reader too shops only for the books he wants to store. Says college student Neerja Sharma who is also an avid reader: "I love books but can't afford to buy all - so it's much more prudent for me to browse and read online and then purchase those which I really want to have."

Siddharth Pansari, managing director, Crossword Kolkata agrees to this and says "In days to come ebooks and other new media will grow as will conventional books. People have a choice to choose whatever works for them best," and adds that the book reading market is not at all dwindling despite this. "Jeffrey Archer's books sell more in India than in UK. Chetan Bhagat´s last book has sold 5 lakh copies. Earlier bestsellers used to be 10000 copies but now it is much more," he adds.

Enteprenaur Korak Kahali, who travels across the globe and who himself is a tech-enthusiast , however, feels that despite introduction of a technical element in the experience of book reading , it has remained largely same. "Yes! People are using Amazon Kindle but I see a large number of them reading the good old paperback." Kahali's last read was the series If God was a Banker, which he read snuggled in his comfortable home over a cuppa of warm coffee.

He is not alone. IIM grad Nirav Mahapatra, though not fond of ebooks , reluctantly admits that he has to switch over to ebooks as he has no time for leisure reading. However, he is all ready to be a part in literary fests which are all the raze now and interact with author/other readers as he feels it is an exercise to stimulate his brain cells and enhance his passion for books.

Says artist and photographer Leena Kejriwal, "I think literary festivals definitely help generate a huge amount of interest in books. The fairs have a lovely invigorating buzz and some of the talks are beautiful insights into personal literary endeavours by historians, politicians, economists and others. The literary festivals are like odes to the beauty they add to our lives."

Industrialist Mayank Jalan, an avid reader, is currently reading Steve Jobs' autobiography is to keen to attend literary fests someday soon though he has not attended one so far. "New forms evolve and they are a product of the times and their needs, so in that context literary fests are absolutely fine. It's worthwhile to hear, see, and mingle with so many litterateurs from across the world."

Says Maina Bhagat , festival director of Kolkata's Apeejay Literary Festival which celebrated its second year recently:, "Festivals are a part of every culture - so why not a Literary Festival? Not only are literary festivals a gathering of like minded people, with good conversation and great ideas floating around, but an occasion for publishers, writers and readers to find common space. For readers especially, to meet authors they have read and admired face to face is elevating, to say the least. "

Rimi B Chatterjee, however, is not sure whether literary fests actually promote either books or reading. "They tend to degenerate into an autograph hunters´ paradise," she feels.

Whatever be the reason people for attending literary fests -it is not rare to see the young intellectual in a heated discussion with his favorite author or a young couple listening hand in hand lyrics of poetry penned by Faiz Ahmed Faiz as in the Apeejay literary festival or enjoy the conversation between Vikram Seth and his illustrious mother -an author, Leila Seth at the just concluded Kolkata Literary Meet, a first, as part of the famed Kolkata Book Fair. Nor is it rare to see a young man with a 'corporate office look' engrossed in his Amazon Kindle in a speeding metro. Truly, times have changed, redefining the book reading experience.

Image: Avishek Mitra