An ode to libraries

On one hand those who wish to read have left the city, on the other books have become inaccessible


Iftikhar Firdous August 23, 2016
In a city where violent conflict rules everyday life, the public has to make the ultimate decision of claiming their space. For now that space exists online. PHOTO: FILE

PESHAWAR: It would not be entirely correct to say that the trend of reading is on a decline in the city because according to one of the country’s premier online book store, Peshawar alone surmounts to 35% of the orders they receive yearly. But it is still a fact that the bibliophilia of its residents still remains ‘unrequited’ with a gradual disappearance of bookstores from the city.

Back in the day, there were at least five major bookstores in Peshawar city. This is not a story from a long gone era, but merely a decade and half ago. The question to ask here is – what happened to cause such a decline?  The easy answer is that terrorism and violence are major factors contributing to the closure of these bookstores, but this is only partially true.

The fact is that the city has molded itself according to its circumstance. Today, a majority of its residents search for cheaper versions of books because of meager personal incomes. The new trend has people looking for relevant material online, most of which they find for free.

Coming back to the paradigm of terror, it has had a two pronged effect on Peshawar’s libraries and books. On one hand, a majority of the people who love to buy books or are privileged enough to afford books, have left the city.



Secondly, people choose to stay indoors, cafés have been substituted by Facebook or in a more rural setup even the hujra exists on Facebook or Whatsapp groups.

The concept of libraries is a faint memory of Peshawar. The memory exists in the mind of a generation that has witnessed that golden era and now lives to tell the younger lot what a library looks like. There is not a single public space in a provincial capital where a book can be read over a coffee. Intellectual degradation has hit the mark where the concept of such a space remains an elusive dream.

One can blame the government and its incompetence as much as they want, but that would be unfair as well as useless. The fact is; reading groups still exist, but even those are considered an oddity in our times. Furthermore, most of these groups are out of the reach of a common citizen, as today, reading is an activity restricted to the elite class. The blame is partially to be laid on the professorial types as well — they have segregated themselves from the ‘common man’ because in their eye the mob does not understand what a certain idea is all about. “In a society where diversity is considered morally bad, an opposing view could mean, the end of you,” says a man belonging to this class.

In a city where violent conflict rules everyday life, the public has to make the ultimate decision of claiming their space. For now that space exists online.  A smart way for the government to salvage this situation would be to start an online library. This would not only benefit the residents of the region, but preserve the literary tradition.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2016.

 

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