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Guest column: The gem that is literature in the age of gists
Simply sharing the gist of a classical piece of writing is as bland as sharing the binary outcome of a cricket match, without having watched it
“You don’t know what the Inshorts app is?” my brother asked me, incredulously. “No,” I replied gingerly, “What is it about?”
“It is a phone app for daily world news, summarised in all of 60 words. Please don’t tell me you are reading entire newspapers!” he exclaimed, in the same cynical tone. “I try to”, I said, guilty as charged. The application may be an efficient way to quickly catch up on news, but whatever happened to reading the good old newspaper cover to cover, paired with a cup of chai?
Admittedly, news on the move is a good idea in today’s busy times, but this brutal massacre of long texts and lengthy books has left me a tad heartbroken. There is a growing demand for quick, short and concise reads. However, I feel that literature should not be subjected to a massacre of any kind!
This textual annihilation and stagnation of literature reminds one of the profound words of the erstwhile king of short stories Sadat Hassan Manto. The power of an atom was not discovered, it was always there. If an atom is misused or unused, the power of the atom cannot be called weak or dead. Similarly, Manto has likened the atom to literature. Literature has an “innate vitality”. If one does not read it, the gem is still there — powerful and enlightening on its own. If society moves away from literature and books, it by no means indicates the enfeeblement of literature, but points towards the enfeeblement and stagnation of society itself. Manto could not have been more right about it.
Simply sharing the gist of a classical piece of writing will be as bland as sharing the binary outcome of a cricket match, without having watched it! In an age of information galore, attention spans are narrowing. We prefer gists. Long texts are becoming repulsive. Also, there is so much that demands our attention now! Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is fighting a losing battle against the millennial expectations.
Some of us have a natural affinity towards books. However, reading does not always come naturally to us. At times, it needs to be gently introduced, just like a slice of say, orange fruit. The moment you bite into its citrus flesh, there is a burst of flavour. It takes a moment to relish its refreshing tang. It is only then that one begins to savour it, and proceeds to peeling it further, revelling in its juicy goodness. Books, for some of us, may feel like drudgery, a monumental project. However, when words begin to paint a picture before our eyes, and whisk us to lands afar, books become blissful haulage. When words strung together form magical sentences which suddenly resonate, they become one’s companions. On days when nothing seems right, books envelope, and provide a refuge like none other.
Literature has something to offer to each one of us. There is war and history for my father. There are never enough self-help books for my sister-in-law. There is fantasy fiction for my daughter. There is coming-of-age literature for me. There is political history for my spouse, who is slowly moving from audio to paper. He has tasted the orange for sure!
Last week, on April 23, we observed the World Book Day. Let’s give the truncated reading apps a rest, and pick up a newspaper, or even better, a book. Whether or not you are a reader, literature just awaits to be unbosomed.
(The writer is a Chandigarh-based contributor)
seeratsandhu25@yahoo.com
