Reading of scriptures after taking the first bath in the morning has been a manda tory activity of an educated H indu 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 amend­ment 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 scrip­ture 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.

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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 for the dethronement of the current government which has come to symbolise all that is unfair, unjust, ruthless and indifferent.

Once the present government goes, his heart tells him, 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 govern­ments 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 her by the time her husband leaves for work and the children have gone to school. As she goes through the columns searching for some exciting bit of news her eyes catch the caption “Govt. Officer killed t son”. Probable motives for parricide include insufficient pocket money.

She is Sui her own son can never think of such a barbarous act although he does take libert with the cash in her purse which is never more than 10 or 20 bucks. Her attention i attracted to an article on “Hair-care”.

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The modern scripture has always updated him on beauty tips. She devours the article in a few minutes. She has to squeeze in som money, she decides, for grooming her hair with application of henna at least once week. Unkempt hair would make her look more aged than she really is.

Sunday scriptures require more time from their devotees. There is a lengthy at tide on the confrontation of Bihar Government and the Central Bureau of Investiga tion, a coloured supplement on latest fashions and children’s page and what the star: foretell. There is a noisy scramble for the pages.

Head of the household manages t( complete half his reading before the children get up a little late in the morning o Sunday. While going through the Fodder Scam update, the famous Shloka of the Bhagwad Gita resounds in his ears. But for the indomitable courage of U.N. Biswas Joint Director, CBI, what could have happened to nascent Indian democracy, he wan­ders and thanks God for sending the saviour in the testing times for enforcing the law of the land in the teeth of lawless legislators.

If only the law-enforcing agencies en­force the law effectively, Ram Rajya will not remain a dream. He will offer a special prayer to God for the success of the ace C.B.I, investigator in his confrontation with the Government of Bihar.

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Suddenly his eyes catch an item in the Business Pages. One of his friends is going in for a public issue to raise fund for his new manufacturing unit.

The news item speaks glowingly of the past performance of the company and exudes confidence about the success of the coming public issue of the company. He feels delighted. He has not met his friend for a few months. But reading about his friend’s business ven­tures gives him the same joy as an actual meeting would have given.

The daughter, who is going through the fashion page, is all aglow with excite­ment. New designs of sweaters are making waves in the fashion world. She wants one as a gift for her approaching birth-day. Some markets of the city are open on Sunday too. She would like to go to the market in the evening and purchase a sweater.

India has posted a victory in the exciting one-dayer against the West Indies. The son is very excited. Sunday is the occasion for the weekly match against a neighborhood team.

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He wants to buy a leather ball for playing Cricket. At 14, he is not content to play with the rubber-ball. The father has to give in to his demand. He wants his son to shine with the ball as he is not been very successful in his studies.

The modern scriptures have much more say in what we think and do than the religious scriptures ever had. Very few, if any, actually practice what the Bhagwat Gita says. But all neighbours do what the modern scriptures say. Do in Rome as the Romans Do. Modern scriptures are creating true emotional integration in the country.