Coming into contact with a good book and possessing it, is indeed an everlasting enrichment
The above quote which highlights the value of reading good books, is a collection from the timeless pages of wisdom shared by the late Ex-President, intellectual and scientist par excellence – Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, whose birth anniversary is celebrated across India on 15th October every year as “Vaachan Prerna Divas” or “Inspire to Read Day”.
With a view to promoting the habit of reading books, Deviprasad Goenka Management College of Media Studies’ Smt. Prabhadevi Banwarilal Saraf Library celebrated the Vaachan Prerna Divas on 15th October, 2020. In her written invitation to the teaching and non-teaching staff members, the Principal of DGMC, Dr. Amee Vora, quoted from the writings of Dr. Kalam:
“If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.”
Essentially, the above thought sums up the rationale based on which the staff members – both teaching and non-teaching, were invited to read aloud an extract from a book that had left an indelible impression on them. Self written thoughts were also welcomed. There were no restrictions set in terms of language.
Almost every staff member participated in the Prerna Vaachan Divas celebration with enriching readings. To name a few, Dr Amee Vora read from a piece written by the Ex-Vice Chancellor of M S University Baroda and a great teacher, poet in Gujarati Language Late Shri. Suresh Dalal; Prof. Rubina Khan read from “Our Mission is water” written by the Mission Man himself, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam; Prof. Saurabh Deshpande read the romantic poem “Ode To The West Wind”. Besides English language, vernacular languages such as Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and Gujarati also found their way in the readings.
Following the readings, participants shared their feedback about the event. After that, the Principal placed on record her directive that both staff and students ought to have book reading occasions organised on similar lines after specific intervals like fortnightly or monthly wherein students could be urged not to use any form of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and instead, read books. The celebration of Vaachan Prerna Divas lit the countenance of every participant with priceless smiles.
