Reading for pleasure
| Many women have shunned viewing lacklustre daily soaps to stick to their reading habit |
Friends forever Women seldom find time to visit a library to satiate their desire to read
With her head buried in the magazine she held in her hand, Usha was engrossed in the story of Ram and Veda and was anxious to know if the couple would accept the American, Thevera, as their daughter-in-law. Magazines like Woman's Era keep Usha occupied during leisure. "I am an avid reader and I like to read anything interesting that I can lay my hands on. I find short stories in these magazines very gripping," she says.
Reading is the most natural habit to inculcate. A good book or reading an informative piece makes ideal companion; it's interesting, builds on your patience and allows you to grow in the pool of knowledge without you realizing it. We live in an age of Internet and multi-tasking superwomen who manage both home and work with equal aplomb. But interestingly and thankfully, many women manage to find time for reading.
There exists in the city a genre, which revels in reading lighter stuff like magazines. This is perhaps because the contents are not heavy on the head or it does not need much focus to enjoy the substance. But the number of avid readers of magazines is dwindling, thanks to escalating prices. Cashing in on the rising cost factor, K. Appa Rao, a resident of Bhavanipuram on the city outskirts, has found a novel way of eking out a living by introducing a mini mobile library that has become a rage, especially among housewives.
Origin of a trendA diminutive, unassuming elderly man with a beret on his head and a genial smile on his well lined face, 60-year-old Appa Rao hit upon the idea of beginning a mobile library way back in 1970. The journey of his mobile library begins on a bicycle at his home and ends after passing through the thoroughfares of One Town, NTR Health University, Satyanarayanapuram and Patamata.
His wife's obsession with reading magazines and her act of borrowing them from neighbours, as he could not afford to buy them, gave him the idea to cater to the reading habit of housewives for a price that was within the reach of the middle class.
Thus came into existence Sri Taraka Rama Circulation Library, named after the legendary NTR who continues to be Appa Rao's ideal hero. Making a humble beginning by charging a monthly fee of Rs. 10 for delivering magazines at the doorstep, he gradually expanded base and now charges Rs. 130 for the job.
Pulling out a plethora of glossy magazines in English, Hindi and Telugu languages from self-spun cloth bags hung on to his bicycle, he caters to the needs of readers of magazines like Femina, Swathi, Sitara, Gruha Shobha, Sarita and Good Housekeeping. Women eagerly await his thrice-a-week visit to refurbish old magazines with new ones.
Better choiceJoginder Kaur prefers reading to watching what she calls endlessly awful soaps in the idiot box like Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi and Kasauti zindagi ki. "The never ending saga of Tulsi and Mihir Virani an d Prerna and Anuraag's 9th marriage has taken the sheen off the daily soaps," she says disdainfully explaining that reading continues to be a priority that helps in honing up her cooking skills besides keeping tab on the catty Bollywood gossip.
"The best part is that it serves a dual purpose for me. While reading to my heart's content, I have a sense of gratification that my act of hiring the books helps this elderly gentleman earn his bread," says Krishna Kumari.
Sasi, a post-graduate in interior decoration, banks heavily on these magazines to update her knowledge on the latest trends in interiors and other fashions.
The women seem to have realized that if one chooses to make reading a constant companion, one will never walk alone. "Besides, you'll have more to discover in life than you'd ever thought about," adds Krishna Kumari.
HARJEET KAUR ALLAGHjust wanna say that this lady lost it
Prerna and Anuraag's 9th marriage?? when did thid happened?
Channel V Dil Dosti Dance
Arjun
