eading of scriptures after taking the first bath in the morning has been a manda tory activity of an educated Hindu since many generations. Somebody would read the Bhagwad Gita, some one would recite from the Tulsi's Ramayana while -another would read aloud Hanuman Chalisa. Devout-Hindus propitiate the gods to facilitate the journey of their life in the world. Of late, there has been some amend- ment in the daily ritual. In many instances, the timing of bath has been shifted to a slightly late-hour and quite a few people have abridged their daily prayers.
There has been a corresponding increase in the time devoted to another kind of scripture — the daily newspaper. While saying the daily prayer has lost some of its fervor over the years and has become a little more than a mechanical activity for many devotees, the modern scrip- ture is grabbed every morning with an exciting curiosity by everybody. Quite a few unfold the paper with an anticipation of discovering a new meaning to their life. While the young graduates scan the job-advertisement pages and the lottery-addicts pour over the lottery results, the school boy insists on reading the paper first of all to satisfy his curiosity about the detailed happenings in the cricket match between India and the West Indies. The head of the household patiently waits for his turn.
He has been following the fate of the minority government of his state and wants to know the trend of the latest machinations of the intended topplers. He has always been waiting forthe dethronement of the current government which has come to symbolise all that is unfair, unjust, ruthless and indifferent. Once the present government goes, hisheart tellshim, things would definitely change for the better.
He has been reading the daily newspaper with such expectation and hopes for the last 25 years. Unpopular govern- ments have been falling all those years without making such difference to the course of his personal life. But as hope springs eternal in the human breast, he is quite sure that the imminent fall of the present government augurs well for the citizens. The house-wife has the paper all to herself by the time her husband leaves for work and the children have gone to school.
