The Hindu Business Line : <I>Voices from the reading class </I>

Not many children cherish school these days. Neither did we in our time, but there were interludes that were fun while they lasted. One such was the reading class. Everyone enjoyed the reading hour, except for the victim of the moment who was made to read some passages from the text-book. Some stuttered and stammered across sentences, like trussed chickens facing slaughter. Others read a few words, paused, drew in a slither of saliva, paused again, looked around, and went on much like a turtle. The rare ones were those that read at one breath, as if pausing would deflate their confidence. Some students began to read slowly, but increased their speed and volume as they progressed, bringing all-round relief when they stopped.

One or two ended the passage with a snort or a clearing of the throat, as if announcing the end of an unavoidable tryst with destiny.

You too must have had a reading class. But have you wondered where this assortment of young readers has landed in adulthood? Having looked hard for years, I have recognised a handful.

The best readers have become vendors on the local trains of Kolkata where they deliver extempore speeches on digestion and sluggish bowels; or on the importance of general knowledge, e.g. who was Abraham Lincoln's wife's nanny? Some of this variety have got into films, where they are cashing in on their talent with maudlin expressions.

If you listen to the popular FM channels, you must have identified the one-breath reader. The slow-to-speed types are, no doubt, the ones who speak at street corners and demand: "What has the nation done for you?" The more serious types are now proofreaders, and those you see glaring hard at the TV screen on the news channels. And the guy who makes the momentous announcement "The next programme follows", after the 9 pm English news on All India Radio. The stuttering category has graduated to national leadership, saying: "We come not to praise terrorism, but to bury the hatchet!"

With all this, where have the bottom-rung guys gone, do you think? They have quietly shut up and become writers. Maybe poor writers too, but also speech-writers: and the best thing for everyone is you don't have to hear — and cannot see — them.

Karunamoy