Discourse at book clubs always helps enhance one's knowledge, say Pandit Bickram Ghosh and Churni Ganguly on National Reading Day

To honour the life and work of Puthuvayil Narayana Panicker, who is widely regarded as the Father of India's Library Movement, June 19 th is observed as National Reading Day. This day is celebrated to develop interest, especially among young people, to read more. Added to that the day is observed to promote conversations and discussions about what one has read with family and friends.We spoke to some celebrities to know how important these book/ reading clubs are to develop reading habits among the younger generation. Read on...
Pandit Bickram Ghosh says, "Physical books will always be relevant as when one reads something, their imagination becomes active and that is very important. Information without imagination shows that one is not creatively consuming knowledge. I still read a lot as that is the only way to learn and teach yourself." He shared that he engages in discourse with his friends which helps add a new perspective to his thoughts. "Many of my friends are voracious readers and we exchange books. We have sessions discussing what we read which helps enhance and refine our knowledge. All book and reading clubs help polish and upgrade one's reading habits and the discussions after that makes the experience that much better," shared the tabla exponent, adding, "If a generation doesn’t read, then the imagination power gets curbed which is alarming."
According to actress Churni Ganguly, the physical feeling of touching a book and leafing through it has a different charm altogether which one hardly gets through online reading. "The smell of a book takes you into a different world. In school, we would go to the library and spend hours there. So, my childhood was surrounded by books which is where I learnt the art of taking care of books." About reading clubs, she remarked, "Today, there are several book clubs and reading clubs and it is extremely encouraging as it helps one to develop an interest in books and most importantly through interactions and through conversations so many new things get shared." She believes that the whole process helps enrich one as a person. "It's good for the young generation as they must realise that there is life beyond technology too. I have a library at home and still exchange books with my friends. And one must realise that a child’s imagination will only develop and spread through reading, so they should be encouraged to read more, " shared the actress.