A Few days ago, I was searching for 'free Malayalam e-books' at google play store. Whenever I found a book I also found it wasn't free. So, I changed the searching strategy. I started searching for the keyword 'free', then look for the name of the book.
Wow!
The only books I found 'free' were, religious books and dictionaries!
See, how generous they're... You can also see the rating beneath each books. 'Yukthiyugam (യുക്തിയുഗം)' is an exceptionally well written magazine. It's Aug 2014 edition costs 50 rupees, and the rating hasn't even given. May be hardly anyone buys it.
Another example of the generosity of religion.
I use to count the number(or roughly the percentage) of libraries, schools, party offices, clubs, health centers, hospitals, holy places, institutions of worship, museums, shopping malls, entertainment places like theater & parks, small and large scale shops etc whenever I travel somewhere.
Among them, the most interesting and provoking thing that I have noticed is, one would find numerous institutions of worship and small party offices AND hardly a functioning library, in remote areas/villages.
There will be a small worshiping place around almost every corner.
Religious ideologies, concepts, practice, and most importantly ethics are readily available like the way you would find oxygen in the air (in 2016). They start to shape every child from their birth itself! They're generous...
I'm sure you would NOT find a library with colorful story books for children (I'm not referring to moral stories but stories that would make them imagine, think, and explore the world). Information must be free, and it must be captivating... Otherwise, we can't attract children to it...
PS: All that we need to do is create a habit! Once we are habituated we need no pressure to continue with it. Religion certainly does it.(so, do the parties! But not from birth)
Footnote: I was a child who used to wear a cross pendant, sit in front of a 'nilavilakku' reciting prayers, rhymes and national anthem in the end! (because I LEARNED that national anthem was MUST at the end of every program.). I used to do the Islam prayer by covering myself with my mother's shawl when I heard the evening salah prayer from the neighboring mosque. I even made a small temple in my courtyard to play, and I used to be the priest when we played. I did all these things because I found them funny and entertaining. I kept a cross when I read Bramstoker's Dracula (when I was around 10 years old). I kept a small locket with the picture of lord Krishna, when I was told horror stories by my cousins in my childhood. I had no particular belief then, but they comforted me. In the former case, I was imitating my neighbors who practiced certain religions. In the later case, the Dracula and Ghost movies induced such a kind of comforting method in my childhood. I was no more than 10 years old then. But I also had books and exploration as my hobby. Hence I entered with footwears in temples, because no one did provide me a reasonable explanation why I must not do so, but merely they said God would punish me. So I wanted to test that if it was true, and I concluded it wasn't.
