Reading pleasure is inexplicable. Books are storehouses of knowledge. I have been a lover of books since my boyhood. Reading habit is the central idea of my column this month. If this page makes you fall in love with books and begin a treasure hunt, I shall deem the purpose of my write-up perfectly served.
For the past seventeen years, New Century Book House has been publishing a Tamil monthly ‘Ungal Noolagam’ popularly known as “Your Library”. In the latest issue dated 1st January 2025, their editorial is under the caption that means – “Let Us Learn From Castro”. It is about the amazing reading habit of Cuban leader, the late Fidel Castro (1926 – 2016).
He used to buy innumerable books of Cuban authors. He liked the most, free verse and metaphoric fiction. Sunk deeply in revolutionary activities, thundering public speeches and rebellious fights, he regretted he could not get enough time to read much. If this is the regret of a man who had read thousands of books,
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what are we to say about ourselves?
Fidel Castro had read complete history of Cuba through the works of various historians. World history was his favourite subject. He had also read biographies and autobiographies of eminent celebrities. He was deeply interested in the literature of several world countries.
During his University days as a student, Castro read deeply and digested the books on
Karl Marx, Engels, Lenin and books on various systems of thought revolving around socialism and communism. He was especially captivated by the works of rebels and revolutionaries.
From 1953 to 1955 he remained lodged in a prison cell. That particular period helped him read a lot. He used to read continuously for fifteen hours approximately. He finished reading all the works of the Russian author Dostoevsky and French writer Romain Rolland.
Fidel Castro had read hundreds of books on French Revolution, the First and the Second World Wars, the Bolshevik revolution, the Chinese revolution etc; At one stage in his life time he had read books related to agricultural innovations too. His reading habit has been incredible and awe-inspiring. He made a lamp that could burn by edible oil. In its light he used to read at night.
Castro had been a revolutionist even in reading. It was not a task for him; it was a target for him. He had an unquenchable thirst and an insatiable appetite for knowledge and wisdom. He was not merely educated; he was truly learned. He proved that education and learning are not the same. Not all the educated in the world are actually learned. If a revolutionary like Fidel Castro, who spent a large slice of his life waging wars on field could read so much, why can’t we too read like him with so much time and so little to do? Books make our life lovable, don’t they?
