Ans. Speech on Reading Day.
Good morning Respected Principal, Dear teachers and all my friends. It is my privilege today, being ‘Reading Day’, to address all of you about the benefits of reading. Why is reading important? It is important because it is a habit that can make you a better person. Biographies of great men and women tell us that most of them became great because of the inspiration they got from reading books especially during their childhood days. This day is observed every year on 15th October as it is the birth anniversary of our late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who strongly advocated ‘reading’ more as a necessity rather than just a mere hobby.
Books not only inspire us, but they also provide knowledge. Even though technology has brought in many changes to the way we read, it has only enhanced our ability to get connected to different sources of knowledge through reading. Reading has several merits. It keeps us connected with the outside world. It enriches and expands our vocabulary and develops the skill of concentration. Reading provides us with pure enjoyment and sheer pleasure. It is to be noted that reading exposes our mind to different cultures and languages of the world. It helps us to digest the best that different regions of the world like Asia and the Middle East, America, Europe, and Africa have to offer us. As our minds are exposed to such a wealth of ideas through reading, it helps us to communicate with depth of thought and a wide mixture of emotional colours as well.
Again, reading gives us entertainment. Novels, short stories, poems, travelogues, and even comics entertain our minds. It helps us relax. More than that it engages our mind in a way nothing else does. Our imagination is ignited when we read. We become co-creators of stories as we animate the stories we read in our minds. It is definitely a healthy exercise to the mind. Therefore, I strongly urge each one of you to cultivate the habit of reading so as to derive maximum benefit from it.
Thank you.
