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        Editorials in a newspaper, on the face of it, symbolize an inviolable tradition. A tradition of knowledge and information. A tradition of moral stand and honest appraisal. It is the window which verily reveals the heart and soul of a publication. But rarely readers make an attempt to peep in through that. According to statistics, only 0.2 per cent of the newspaper reading population venture anywhere near the editorials. This is the global figure. The numbers in India should be even lesser than this. So editorials are whistles in the dark, an exercise in self-assurance, an external effort to dispel internal fear. The lack of readership to editorials may have got something to its tone and tenor — pedantic and elitist. But this is only one aspect of it. Edits, or for that matter anything that is written with a serious and probing bent of mind, are not being read as because the people are loath to peruse anything that is heavy and calls for an equal effort from the reader.

        Everything in life is not simple. Life's truths and tricks don't come in condensed lines or compressed sounds. Gita cannot be fitted in smsese. And editorials, by definition, cannot be bite-sized nuggets of trivia or surface-skimming reports that newspapers have to willynilly come up in this age of TV-reduced attention span. Newspapers cannot be expected to tailor everything to the lowest common denominator, as it would simply be a reductionist exercise to equal zero.

        To be sure, editorial writers have to climb down from the preening perch of their ivory towers. The language has to be more chatty and easy. Yet, the readers too need to walk a few stairs up to rise up in the knowledge ladder. Dumbing down in newspapers is a direct fallout of the fading reading habit among the populace.

        Reading, for the sheer pleasure of it, is a gift to the humankind. There are still many who write with panache and poise. To read them is to drink deep from the chalice of nature. Substance need not be everything in writing. Style too has an important place. Language cannot be seen as a mere tool for communication. After all, dresses, these days, are not worn to merely cover the essentials. If attire cannot be elevated to a work of art. Surely words and verses can be stylized.

        Losing the reading habit is a threat to civilization itself. The impact of moving images and sounds are mostly external. They cannot appeal to the soul. Reading, which calls for skill and effort, can. It is the defining ability of humankind. Don't lose it. It comes handy at least to figure out the writing on the wall.