Do you remember when you last bought a new book and enjoyed scrolling through its pages? Or completed a book while travelling on a long-route train. Many of us miss it with the advent of technology or call it low-cost data for internet surfing. Technology has changed how we read and purchase books.
Let’s Read Foundation (LRF), a Navi Mumbai-based NGO, is restoring it by spreading the reading culture. Apart from setting up an R&D centre in Nerul, it is working hard to reach each and every person. It has reached lakhs of people in Navi Mumbai and Maharashtra. LRF set up a library at a Covid care centre in Vashi and it proved a game changer for the patients. FPJ talked to Prafulla Wankhede, founder of LRF about his mission and future plan.
How did you get the idea to spread the reading culture?
In my childhood, I used to read a lot. My school did not have a good library. In fact, there was no library around 20km from my village. My father used to bring books for me. But that was not enough. Finally, I got a good library when I went to the college. After getting a job, I spent most of my salary buying books. After I settled down, I decided to make books available for everyone.
How will you summarise your initial experience with LRF?
Answer: I always wanted to do something about book reading. Due to professional commitments, I could not do it initially. I set up the LRF in 2018. Through social media I asked people what kinds of books they like or which books they completed recently or bought new books. It was surprising that the majority of them wanted to read books but they were not getting time. The mobile phone has been eating out their time. At the same time, I will admit that the growth of LRF was based on social media. Reading culture still prevails, we just need to connect such people together.
Why does book reading culture seem missing today?
If we go by history, we will see that many of us left reading and the reason is the internet. We need to understand that Google gives information, but the book gives knowledge. If we need knowledge, we have to read books. Information on a mobile phone is similar to instant food.
How is reading on a device different from physical books?
We have done a lot of research on it. A soft copy can be a good option while travelling. However, at the same time, a book in physical form can be felt by touching, smelling and scrolling pages which are missing in soft copies. So, it's the mother of all forms of reading.
What is the importance of storytelling in our life?
Most successful people across the globe, irrespective of their fields, are good storytellers. If you are not a good storyteller, you cannot succeed. Books are the basic food of storytelling.
Can we blame the education system for youngsters being averse to leisure reading?
Yes, it’s the fault of the present education system. It is a shocking fact the majority of schools do not have books in their libraries. Books are bought from a particular distributor because of a good margin or commission not because of the availability of good books. Even at home, many parents do not encourage children to read books. They are shown Youtube videos and infants are making reels on Instagram.
What is LRF doing for it?
In Navi Mumbai, in association with NMMC, we are setting up libraries in 10 slums. In addition, the civic body is also setting up a central library. The LRF is also keeping 30 books in each classroom and children will be asked to complete them one by one and they will get marks for it.
How can you describe the smell of books as you perceive them?
Whenever I buy new books, I always smell them. I get an earthly scent produced after the first rain on dry soil in summer. I personally visited the printing press when my first book was published to see how it looks when it smells so good.
Discipline and concentration in the workforce today are related to how much they read as children. How do you foresee the workforce 15 years down the line?
It is very important and I advise everyone in my office to learn something new, at least 10 new words. Whatever I achieved today is due to reading books. There are directors in my company who started their careers as trainees.
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