Kerala - Kochi

No stopping the pleasure of reading

Photo: Thulasi Kakkat

In a world of her own: A foreign tourist engrossed in a book in Kochi. —

Kochi: Now that you are reading this piece, let there be no doubt that reading isn’t dead; nor is it ailing. Only that over the years there has been a turnaround in the type of books preferred by certain sections of readers and that the medium itself is poised for transformation with online libraries, the Internet and digital storage tools making steadfast entry.

Lifestyle changes wedded in by an era that witnessed crass marketisation of knowledge, spurt in spending power, technological growth coupled with a changed world order and the world of virtual reality made real by information technology contributed further to this change. To keep pace with that, the stuffy libraries whose dim lit corridors used to be the refuge of bibliophiles had to go for an image makeover. Those that resisted change had books gathering dust on derelict shelves.

The five libraries under the Municipal Corporation, for instance, are without a librarian for over a year and a half. They have stopped issuing fresh memberships, but books keep coming and get piled up in those forsaken spaces. More serious libraries with computerised book keeping facility, however, maintain an edge by lending the latest volumes for a sum. An example is the Public Library whose reference section has lot of fans. Eloor, Changampuzha and EMS Library, too, continue to do well.

“Ernakulam district has about 400 libraries affiliated to the Library Council, which has of late started offering special grants to those that conduct knowledge-related programmes at least once in a month,” says C.K. Manisankar, president of the District Library Council. “There are active school libraries, too. In a first, the Government HS Elamakkara, managed to build a small library in every classroom. Some libraries also offer to deliver the book of your choice at home. About reading, books in English are gaining popularity among students, too,” he says.

In a recent survey conducted by the Council among 3,375 people in the Corporation limits, only 503 turned out to be members in a library. Thirty nine said they owned a small collection at home. A good 318 said they bought books regularly.

Reading therefore is no longer library-oriented as more people are buying books unlike earlier. According to Ravi Dee Cee, chief executive officer of DC Books, “Contrary to popular perception, there is a burgeoning reading class. The youth, as always, are into reading lighter, populist stuff as they can easily relate to the kind of tales being dished out by the likes of Chetan Bhagat. If in the olden days people would only buy classics, now they are ready to shell out a few hundreds for popular fiction as well. While chicklit and romances are a hit with women and the youth, there is a huge demand for career-oriented self-help and motivational books, too.” (See box).

If in the past a writer of the stature of M. Mukundan would have about 5,000 copies of his book sold in the first edition, his latest work, Pravasam, sold a neat 10,000 in the first print itself. “Individuals form 80 per cent of our clientele. There is a niche class of readers for every category and they are pretty thorough about what’s up in that field,” says Mr. Ravi.

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