Why should one read a lot?!!!

By Shouvik Roy

Partner at Alchemist Brand Consulting, New Delhi, Shouvik juggles his time between brand management, teaching, music and being a homebody. Shouvik has worked as visiting faculty for various business schools including IIMM (Pune), Symbiosis and NMIMS (Mumbai).

Someone once planted a quote in my head that has refused to go away for the past two decades – ‘there is no difference between someone who cannot read and does not read’. This did something to me. I am hoping I can do the same thing for you after your having read this piece.

I spent many hours with my niece who is in school and observed her daily rituals which I guess reflects habits of most of today’s school goers, and she is no real exception. There is time for everything in her life – going to school, going for tuitions, partying with friends, spending time watching TV, discussing about topical (or non-topical) issues endlessly. All of these are great and important for everyone. I am a firm believer of ‘all-round’ growth. But, what struck me was the notable absence of ‘reading’ from the daily rituals. Where has ‘reading’ suddenly vanished? Many argue that it has got to do with the increasing number of distractions – Satellite TV being the biggest culprit, telephones being the second.

I don’t read, you may say, so what’s the big deal?

I have been asked this question several times over. My answer to this is simple. I have not met a ‘successful’ professional from any industry or walk of life who is not ‘well read’. There are obviously varying degrees of being ‘well read’. Personally, I don’t think I have read even half of what I should have in my life. But, over the last decade I have certainly realised how much and in how many ways it helps. So, here is my take on what reading can do. Reading what? Well, reading almost anything that you can lay your hands onto or what interests you.

1) Reading and respect – To me, they go hand in hand. I have seen people getting respect in discussions and gatherings just by how much they know and have read about a subject. If you have read something about a subject that is being discussed, you will have a point of view. It’s not important whether your point of view is accepted or not, what is important is that you ‘have’ a point of view. As an example, try discussing ‘Rock music’ with friends who read the Rolling Stone Magazine or books on Rock music and you’d know what I mean.

2) Articulating and structuring thoughts – Believe it or not, if you are a vehement reader your articulation of thoughts even in spoken language increases substantially. And of course your writing skills become a lot better. You are able to detect good from bad use of language much more easily.

3) Patience – This is a virtue, and reading makes you patient. Reading Harry Potter in 12 hours teaches you more about patience than watching it in 2 hours. You are much more in control of your need for speed which anyway dominates the rest of our lives.

4) Better judgment – At some point in time in future, as you are being judged today in your interactions everywhere, you too will need to judge other people. It really helps if you have a greater width of knowledge in different subject matters (not necessarily only by reading, but it surely helps) to be able to judge others.

5) An idea can change your life. An idea from a book too can see your life change for the better if it is a sound idea. Always read, read everyday, passionately.

It’s not a question of how much you can read, but accepting the fact that reading helps. This by itself can be a life changer for your generation. For those of you who love reading, please pass this on to your friends who do not.

I do many things including writing this column every week. If I find time to read at least a couple of books a month (and that’s too little) I am sure you’d find time too.