New Delhi, Aug. 16 -- For as long as I can remember, there's been much hand-wringing about the "loss of reading habit", the dirges linking the decline to every other evil in the world. The Kerala government is worried enough to have elevated it to a policy issue. A few days ago, it decided to "give grace marks" to students who "engage in activities that promote reading habit", as the state's education minister announced, somewhat ironically, on Facebook, which has probably contributed disproportionately to our rejection of reading and engaging with anything meaningfully. In this age of wonderful and ever-changing imagery that comes straight into our hands, it is easier to view than to settle down, focus and take in alphabets, sew them int...