Feature

Books One's Best Friend

Shatabdi Biswas

IN a layman's words, a book is some pages bound together with a cover which gives us immense knowledge about a certain topic. There can be different types of books starting from storybooks, books dealing with science, philosophy, literature, the administration system of a country and many more. As the proverb says "A friend may cheat you or leave you in moments of terrible danger, but a book will always accompany you and hold up a hand to help you." It has not yet been found yet when and where books originated from but we all know that early people used to write in leaves, heavy stones. It is needless to say that with the invention of language writing began and thus books came into the hands of general people. Even in this modern age, books are the supreme contributor of knowledge and nothing can be regarded as an alternative to it.

Story books are those that contain stories intermingled with imagination and realism. They offer us a lot of entertainment and it is the proper food for mind. From old people to children story books are the best option to spend ones leisure time fruitfully. Teachers also advise students to read story books to develop their thinking capabilities which would enable them to write freely. Novels can be defined as large stories and there are many famous novels written by poets Rabindranath Tagore, Sharatchandra Chattopaddhay, etc. Tagore's novels include Ghare Baire, Gora, Chokher Bali, Chandalika, Malancha and his short stories are Naukadubi, Galpaguchha, Charodhay, etc. Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare are the prominent writers in English literature and their creations defy time and they will exist forever in the hearts of every reader.

With the advancement of civilization, science has become an integral part of our life. And so there are books about science covering the range of physics, chemistry and biology. They provide us with various information for example, how this great space has been created and how from the simplest micro organisms human beings came to life. The books which allure the book lovers the most is science fiction. Science-fiction stories are such which puts us between two stools whether to believe-the science or to be stuck in the fantasy world. As for instance, robot domination over the human civilization is an apocalyptic sign for the future but still too hard too accept logically. Comic books are a bombshell which will explode one with immense fun and even an octogenarian person will love to look through a comic. Sometimes moral lessons are given by stories which is very much helpful for the young learners. These are the ones most commonly read by us but books are also written upon poetry, economics, technology, history and geography. Therefore, we rush to go to the library to have a flavour of different species of books and to indulge ourselves in some quality moments which will not only benefit ourselves but also give us a fresh conception of recreation.

But in this 21st century, life is becoming fast and so people do not have so much free time which our ancestors might have had. We spend our free time by chatting in the net, surfing the websites, sending e-mails or just having some food cooked with a cuisine at a hi-fi restaurant. Some of us converse on mobile phones with friends and relations just wasting the useful time in a useless way. This is applicable for most of today's youngsters who have forgotten to touch books. Very few are seen to go to the library and just read for at least ten to fifteen minutes. Today's young generation think that socializing and talking with people will make them much more modern, ultra cool and not study geeks.

Those who read books are classified as total nerds and they are often humiliated in front of others. To change these pupils' view necessary steps must be taken. Schools should start library classes where each student must read for an hour in the school library and do up a commentary upon that topic. This is to ensure that if the child has read the books or not. Teachers should try to encourage students to read books and be able to influence their minds. Today's children are the hope of our nation. They are just like blossoming flowers who need proper care and nurturing. That is why, a book is a must as a nourishment to contribute to their healthy little minds. They will one day turn into adults and at that time they can also do the same i.e. to turn their future generation to loving books. "Education is the backbone of a nation." Just as a person cannot stand and walk around without a backbone, a nation must have educated persons for development. Above all, a book loving country is an educated one because the more you read, the more you learn.

(Regional Public Administration Training Centre,Rajshahi)