It is truly said, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

Similarly, reading is an essential part of human life. Like air and water are the necessities for survival, reading is necessary for the growth of our soul and mind.

There was a time when books were considered precious gifts and people used to wait eagerly for morning newspapers. However, the situation has changed now and fancy things have replaced books. Today, people are far away from the habit of reading despite having many sources like PDFs and e-books.

Therefore, a dire need is felt to ignite the spark for reading as well as writing through various activities. We need to enhance activities like book challenges on social media where readers post their favourite books and study circles to create the aura of words. Seeing people read gives me pleasure and a beacon of hope that one day books will regain their place on the shelves along with antique decorative items.

SAJID ALI,

Hyderabad.