Children no longer read for pleasure, says Shashi Tharoor
The Hindu
It is a terrible loss that many youngsters and children nowadays do not enjoy the pleasure of reading, Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP, has said.
It is a terrible loss that many youngsters and children nowadays do not enjoy the pleasure of reading, Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP, has said.
He was delivering a lecture in memory of N.E. Balakrishna Marar, founder of Kozhikode-based Poorna Publications and Touring Book Stall or TBS, here on Saturday, at a two-day literature festival organised by the group.
“Not a day goes by these days without me being asked, mostly by young children, egged on by enthusiastic parents, what they must do to develop a formidable vocabulary. My answer is inevitably just a single word: read,” Mr. Tharoor said.
The well-known author, however, said he was worried that reading for so many children was no longer associated with pleasure.
“Reading, instead, is entwined with books, textbooks and studies confined to the drudgery of school obligations. So when it comes to pleasure, most youngsters nowadays prefer looking at a screen, their mobile phone, play station, or Nintendo,” Mr. Tharoor said.
It would not be wrong to say that the pandemic, when one was helplessly cloistered at home, exacerbated the menace of the screen.
“Of late, I have met too many children who have never read a book for pleasure or entertainment, but only for a classroom assignment. This is a terrible loss. And failing to convey the joy of reading is probably the biggest mistake that successive generations of parents and teachers have allowed themselves to make,” he said. There was still time to remedy the situation so long as the problem was recognised and rectified.
Almaya Munnettam (Lay People to the Fore), group in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church opposed to the synod-recommended Mass, rejected a circular issued by Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil and apostolic administrator Bosco Puthur on June 9 to implement the unified Mass in the archdiocese from July 3.
Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten stated that “not so great decision making” contributed to his side’s defeat to India in the Group-A T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. The batting unit came apart in the chase, after being well placed at 72 for two. With 48 runs needed from eight overs, Pakistan found a way to panic and lose. “Maybe not so great decision making,” Kirsten said at the post-match press conference, when asked to explain the loss.