Meeting with Writers in Shimla is a great experience

Meeting with the writers is a lovely experience for me. We share our thoughts and discuss various things about our creations. Occasionally one of them reads out his new story, which is yet to be published. The other one brings his poetry to recite and someone else is there to talk about his new coming up book. This is a good practice but I don’t like lobbying, that actually happens a lot. Writers, in general, have a tough time. They need to struggle a lot. In this era of the internet, it is easy to send the writings to the publishers and to the magazines. There were days when the writers had to visit the publishers and go to them from door to door to submit their scripts. Time has changed and the miracles of the internet have shrunk the world. Some writers are not very friendly with the computers so they face troubles. There is no one to help them. Sometimes they take the help of their grandchildren and ask them to type a story or a poem.

Books to Cellphones

But who reads these days is a big question for a writer. People are losing the habit of reading. They try to find the answer to every question on the internet. It’s easy, they think, but every knowledge on the internet is not authentic. It was a factual surprise for me to know that the bookstores are closing down. A few years ago, an old bookshop at the Mall was closed and was rented out to someone to open a cellphone store. Mobile phones replaced the books. No one knows what happened to the books, but everyone was keen to visit the store to inquire about the new models of cellphones. I hardly saw anyone there in the shop when it was a bookstore but now it remains thronged with the cellphone lovers.

What will happen to the writers? Who will read our books? Every moment a thought or other comes to my mind and I wish to record it before it skips away. It could be used for my next story. But if the readers are missing then what is the future of my stories.

Writer’s Meet

The best place to meet the writers from across the world is to attend Book Fairs organized by the government and some private authorities. Writers get many chances to interact with other writers and attend various functions. New books are released, talks are given and many discussions are made on books. People are ready to donate money for making temples but no one spends in creating libraries. They like to spend on expensive clothes but how much do they spend on books. I see people wearing torn jeans and to the matter of surprise to me, this torn pair of jeans sells expensive than the correct one.

The publishers are moving their business to online, a new phenomenon, or to self-publishing system. The writers find it better but it is no easy.

I have seen many writers making their own groups, organizations, and societies. With them, they organize their own literary festivals, meaningful sometimes. I prefer to minimize my attendance at these festivals. It is better to sit with the kids and share stories with them then going to these festivals.

To Students

Students must read other than their syllabus books. Improve the habit of reading. It releases stress and builds up confidence in you. The life is there ahead of you. Forget about the troubles that come your way. Nothing is permanent in this world. But the books will always be there. You never know which character of which story will start haunting you and becomes your friend, maybe your best friend for life and educates you on how to live. Try to create a library at home and keep increasing it. Buy your own stuff if you really want to enjoy it and keep it around you, in your room. The company of books produces positive energy that keeps you going. Instead of spending six-hour on gossiping around, spend at least thirty minutes, every day, on reading books and see how they change your personality.

Some oldies in Shimla, I meet them in bookstores, find them browsing through the shelves. They are always looking for good writers. Ranjit, the bookseller at the Mall tells me that their better customers are the old people than the young crowd. He is worried about this as he thinks that the future of the bookselling business is not very bright. He has started a new practice of throwing a phone call to his regular customers, whenever he receives a new publication.

For me, it is never hard to keep a book with me. I like to read it again and again and reuse it to lend it to others. When I travel, I carry a book or two with me. I may not get time to read them but their being with me keeps me thrilled. I love to talk about them with my fellow travelers. The discussion stretches and some new subject of the conversation comes up. I still have the books from my syllabus in my college. A few novellas, a short storybook, some poems of some famous writers or a history book are still a part of my collection at home. I have read them many times and so they have been kept on the last shelf. Sometimes when I bring them out, they bring some lovely memories of my past and my student life. So it is time to read now and I stop this story here. Happy reading. ================================================================================= [hr] Written by : Sumit Raj Vashisht, better known as Summit is the founder of Shimla Walks and a qualified tourism professional from Delhi University. Summit is a published author with six books to his credit, now. His seventh on titled as ‘Shimla Walks’ is on the way and to be released soon. Summit loves Himalaya and says that ‘Mountains travel in his veins with blood’. One of his books that he wrote on Kalka Shimla Railway, named as A Journey to Shimla – by Toy Train can be read on Kindle. Contact Him : +917018703170, +91 9459519620 WhatsApp : +91 7018703170