Book-Marks

Books has been a part of our lives from time immemorial which has been the best way to pen down your thoughts and get treasured by the readers for a lifetime. Right from the schooldays we are given a heavy overdose of books on a variety of topics and some just get hooked to it even after school years, and the habit stays on.

If we take the case of the craze for classic manuscripts, we can safely say, inspite of all the internet and social networking blitzkrieg, books are still here to stay. Perhaps books are the best mirrors of our lives.

And in its popularity lies its fragileness. Since the so called book-lover is a niche club when we read something out of choice and not force as in school. For every individual a taste develops over time and so it’s not so easy for new authors to get into the minds of the enthusiast so quickly. Now for an author to actually get established in the so called book-lover community takes quite a lot of patience, perseverance and not to forget about a consistent quality of writing.

No matter how best the cover of the book is, a reader will not go beyond the first 3 pages and the last 2 pages if he doesn't find it captivating enough. Because a true book lover already develops a pre-monition and a pace in his mind of how the book should be.

Next comes the matter of topic. Now it is one accepted fact that biographies and books on historical people has not been so popular like the other categories of writing, as generally our history books in school gives a lot of coverage to popular historical figures . And even an enthusiast will read of a particular person once or may be twice by 2 different authors.

So what does the third or the fourth author do who intends to write on a historical figure? He simply has to provide something unique about that person which will draw the reader to read about the person once again. And here lies the vulnerability, as providing a unique facet of a person is easier said than done. So it will also need a thorough research on the person.

But in this age of short-cuts and cheap publicity certain authors are throwing out unique facets about popular historical figures, mostly for the first time without any credible evidence to support or scholarly debates, and which finally becomes controversial. And the controversy heats up manifold when you see a person of another country writing about a historical figure of a different country, so they are even immune to the law of the land. And these days the unique facets that are being suggested often are targeting a person's character and that is quite a dangerous trend, because it is spicy, mind-catching, which will easily attract people.

This instance is rising quite vigorously over the last few years with famous icons being chosen. So are these writers taking our literary freedom for granted or do they just want some instant glorification by throwing a pebble into the wind and enjoying the show. Atleast after the negative hype a few people will care about reading which for otherwise wouldn't have been picked up also.

This is where the literary community should also step in and try to confront these instant glory seekers, if the unique facet they suggest is not based on any credible evidence and research. Else there is a risk of manipulating historical persons just like anybody would want and laugh their way to the bank. But ultimately the innocent mind will be poisoned with a false idea and paint a bleak picture for a glorified individual.

. . .