A Book Lover’s Lament
Are future generations in this city (Mumbai), barring a privileged few, going to be denied the pleasure and satisfaction derived from reading a good book? This depressing thought sprang to mind when the owner of one of the last surviving circulating book libraries in the Cuffe Parade-Colaba area — one that my wife and I had patronized for over 20 years — sadly announced that he was shutting shop. This good natured gentleman — and his late brother before him — exhibited a genuine passion for the books they stocked; and I could feel the disappointment and regret in his voice as he imparted this devastating information. He had no choice but to close down, he said, since the customers simply had stopped coming.
Growing up in Colaba, I have fond memories of The Causeway and Happy Book Stalls, not to mention half a dozen book lending libraries in the short stretch between Colaba Bus Station and Regal. Those places seem almost like a dream now, peaceful and cozy havens where, for a very reasonable monthly fee, you could lose yourself in a world of chaotically stacked books and comics; and the volume of reading material you could take home was limited only by your capacity to devour it.
So why have the customers stopped coming? Why is reading becoming a dying art form? Newspapers and magazines are but a panacea. They cannot get into the meat of a story like good literature can, generate the urge to keep turning the page to discover what delights lie ahead, or deliver the satisfaction one experiences after finishing a good book.
Television and video games are the usual suspects, of course. The former makes very limited intellectual demands on the viewer and, in fact, fosters a short attention span by flitting from image to sound byte to the next image and so on. Thee latter captures one’s attention initially, but subsequently transforms it into an addiction that leaves the player drained and unfulfilled. We are producing a generation for whom instant gratification is the new mantra; instant messages on your mobile, instant opinions in the news media, even instant noodles. The brand new philosophy seems to be: do it, enjoy it and forget it. Any recreational activity that provokes thought is like, old fashioned and so boring yaar. Somehow I don’t believe this is the brave new world contemplated by Aldus Huxley.
Fortunately, the tribe of book lovers is far from extinct, particularly among the older generation. But where will it go for sustenance? One can buy books online (Kindle), of course, but this can soon become a costly proposition. A circulating book library was his last refuge, where he could borrow a book for a few rupees, return it and then borrow the next one. Alas, this noble institution is fast dying out. It will be a sad day indeed when spirited discussions on the latest ‘damn good read’ become yet another relic of the ‘good old days’.
