Reading as a pastime is declining these days. Fewer students are borrowing books from libraries. Relying on their textbooks, teacher?s notes and guides to pass their exams, most hardly have time for literature and general reading.

Parents and teachers can do a wonderful job to encourage children to set up a home library. An introduction to the world of books is perhaps one of the greatest gifts of parents and teachers to children at this crucial stage of development. A bookcase for your children will be a piece of furniture of unending value. It will not only make them proud of their collection but will enable them to own a portion of the world?s rich cultural heritage.

A work of fiction can give the child a taste for reading. It is clear that the schoolboy or girl will be thrilled to get into the world of the imagination; yet care should be taken to avoid an excess of it: a balance between homework, study, other responsibilities and general reading should be kept.

Great novels can afterwards be read to open up for your child a gallery of characters, an insight into different cultures and civilisations; he/she can be acquainted with the aspirations and struggles of the working class, thereby getting an enriching experience. Works of fiction entertain, inform and even terrify. For many it is a relaxation - a safe getaway from the harsh certainties of everyday life.

For all the motivations they generate in you, self-help books become and remain your unfailing companions. They help you to find your way to your full potential. Such inspiring books cannot be borrowed. They should have their rightful place in your home library to be read again and again: they are faithful friends to advise you how to overcome disappointment, frustration, loneliness, sadness, worry and other negative feelings and thoughts. Some worth mentioning are: The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. Sure to kindle in you what was idle or dying, they are to be read, discussed, passed on to friends or given as presents.

Lives of famous men and women are a must for all readers. D.S Freeman, the Pulitzer Prize winning author, believed that biographies are necessary for completeness in life. The lessons of their hard work, often heroic sacrifices amidst poverty, humiliations and insults can teach a lot about how to make our own lives better and worth living.

How these eminent persons achieved so much, in the face of untold hardships will be examples to follow. Life is not plain sailing as many of the younger generation think: it is an endless battle to be fought with courage, determination and resilience of mind. Unconsciously, we learn noble qualities that contribute to make us better human beings.

Once a love for reading is developed, readers can buy books on any subject- from health, to politics and philosophy, depending on our interests. In fact, books are the only riches that posterity can never eat away or squander. They continue to add meaning to life, man?s dearest possession.

Nothing can replace books, a rich legacy left by the best brains of the world. Books have to be read extensively and given pride of place in our homes.

Kaviraj SOHUR