The ten-day long 21st Imphal Book Fair in its 21st edition has begun at Hatta Kangjeibung and will go on till December 24th. An annual event now, the book fair organized by the State Central Library, Imphal in collaboration with the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Foundation, Kolkata is fast becoming an exercise for students and aspirants for various competitive examinations in the state to buy course books. Despite the presence of 23 book firms from outside the state and over 20 odd local firms this year, chances are that the number of book lovers thronging the fair and buying books will still be low. In fact, there has also been a visible trend of a decrease in the number of people visiting the fair and purchasing books other than text or course books while it is common to hear the popular lament that the reading culture in the state is decreasing.
The ‘lack of a reading culture’ in Manipur may well be a mere assumption without any standardized study on the reading habits of people in Manipur. There would have a to be a mapping of which age group reads what, how much and whether they buy books and if so, from where. Without such a study, it would be wrong to say that there is no reading culture in the state and that people are not buying books.
Interestingly, the NBT (National Book Trust)-NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research) Study on ‘Reading Habits of the Literate Youth of North-East India’ released in November this year said that 43 percent of the youth in the North Eastern states are readers. Amongst the states in the region, Assam had the lowest number of leisure book lovers (39%) while Mizoram had the highest percentage at 62%. Manipur ranked second with 52% with Nagaland at 47%. The lack of reading amongst younger children across the region was also flagged off with children preferring to watch television.
The survey did not mention specifics of book reading and book buying in the region, including figures on reading language books which would include those written in Manipuri Bengali script and others written in local dialect form using English alphabet. But older people with access to online bookshops are buying books at far cheaper rates than bookstores will every give; with free shipping thrown in. There is also the matter of language book reading that deserves some serious thought. Yet again, only a proper study would be able to zero in on the exact figures but it would be safe to say that the figures would not be much. Poorly bound language books with lackluster book covers, topped with no marketing strategy or publicity can be no match for glossy books marketed with zeal on every social media and traditional media forums.
Meanwhile the switch in the script being followed in the state also means that the few amongst the older generation who are reading books in Manipuri Bengali script and not used to reading in English, which is the common reading medium for younger people; will not be able to read in case these books are brought out in the Manipuri script. On the other hand, younger children who are learning the Manipuri script in schools now will all have to miss out on the entire literary legacy that is now in Bengali script!
There is a serious need to take due steps towards promoting books and the habit of reading for different age groups in the state. Reading clubs should be encouraged at Schools and Colleges with appropriate books for different ages and classes so that young people turn to books more than they do to the television. Publishing firms in the state need subsidies so that they are able to invest in more writers while authors would need to get out of their comfort zones and reach out to potential readers. So long as books remain limited to a certain set of people, there can be no popular demand for them. As for the ongoing Imphal Book Fair, not many people would find value in stepping out in the winter chilled dusty ambience at Hatta Kangjeibung, face parking issues, pay an entry fee and then get marginal discounts on books. A ‘meet film artist’, a ‘meet Shumang Leela Artist’ at the Imphal book fair might just get a curious crowd but would they buy books as well? An increase in the discount on books might just be what it takes, considering that customer is king.