Why I Will Never Stop Reading Printed Words.

Samir Datar || “Samir is in the profession of communication for 25 years only because he is amazed with power of words every single day.” || Follow Samir on https://twitter.com/samirdatar?lang=en https://samirdatar.wordpress.com/

“Beautiful medium will continue to enthrall us for a long time to come” is how my friend Naresh put it when he asked me to write something about print.

Back when I was 8 I think, I got hooked. It all started with Enid Blyton and Famous Five. The book, the cover and how story unfolded; it had me hooked. If there is one addiction that I never regret (actually I don’t regret any of my addictions), it is the addiction for books. The sheer ecstasy of laying my hands on a new book, the fragrance of fresh unturned yet pages, the weight of the book, the excitement of turning the page and then getting lost in the words can never be surpassed by anything in the world. Not even the euphoria of falling in love can match this.

You might say that it’s all about the book, the plot and how well the author draws into the story. Trust me, it is more than that. It is the crisp white paper. The neat words with margins on the left and right (like keeping our imagination under reins), the page number at the top right or top left (depending on the page).All the thinking that went into crafting the book. The truth is it is a package. All these elements put together makes reading the book so gripping. How we control the urge to turn the page and read what happens next. That finger restless at the top, ever so eager to turn the page. No tap or swipe on Kindle can even come close to this beautiful ritual. Yes I do own a kindle too but there are certain authors that I will never ever read on kindle. Books by those authors need immersion. They need physical turning of the page. Kindle can never do that. No matter how much it tries to replicate. Kindle will always have the momentariness to reading a book. I tend to read books much faster on Kindle and I do not remember much once I am done reading. Doesn’t happen when I am reading an actual book. The words stay with me for long.

Here comes the kicker though. Everyone might think that I am old school, an old man who doesn’t understand the wonders of the digital world. My kids (17 and 14) are very tech savvy and understand the digital world the way Gen Z understands. But when it comes to books, their preference is physical books. Between the three of us, we have over a 1000 books in our house. There are books everywhere in our house. Yes they get the love for reading from me but books, it is all their own. The entire series of Agatha Christie and many other collections, they have built it over time and they are proud of it and possessive. You can’t get possessive about a book on Kindle. Can you? My daughter obsesses over keeping every book as good as new.

But lest you think it is about books only, let me clarify, it is about printed word on a physical page.

I have been reading newspaper for over 4 decades now and I still prefer reading a newspaper in spite of various apps (and even apps of these newspapers) that gives news at the press of a button. There is something about scanning all the headlines on a page and choosing which one to read. Or slowly leading up to Sports page (the final destination).

People have been writing epitaphs for printed publications (and yes many publications have gone bankrupt) but there is a reality that is emerging and I do believe that we need to take cognizance of it.

There is a generation which was born digital. Their first phone was a smart phone and therefore they have gone through the digital evolution cycle much faster than most of us. They have reached digital maturity in 1/10^th the time it has taken us. This generation is seeking real connects now. They are reaching digital fatigue and want to go beyond the screen. Live the real experience and not something vicarious through Facebook or Instagram or whatever. For this generation, digital world is only a source of staying informed and seeking knowledge. This Generation would want to feel the paper, smell the paper and turn a new leaf. Will we have these pages ready for them? Or would we have killed the pages come the reading hour. Maybe we need to gaze into the crystal ball and see what the future holds. And mind you, it is definitely not the future as tom-tommed by the people who are enamoured by the digital bubble.

To wind up, words fly on a digital page. They are there only till we scroll up. But in books, magazines and newspapers, they stay with you even if you turn the page.

*Image courtesy , The Spinoff | Joe Mull