Noted folk singer, Ms Malini Awasthi through her songs connected the visitors with our folk tradition which values nature at the Theme Pavilion. Her rendering of folksongs like Nimiya Ki Daar Maiya and Dhobia enthralled the audience. Shri Baldeo Bhai Sharma, Chairman, NBT also spoke on the occasion. Appreciating Ms Malini Awasthi, Shri Sharma said that Ms Malini is an encyclopedia of folk songs and folk tradition.
Today being weekend and the second last day of the New Delhi World Book Fair, the book lovers from across Delhi visited Pragati Maidan in large numbers. Till evening, more than one lakh people had thronged the Book Fair. Book lovers of all age groups and children along with their parents and teachers enjoyed browsing through books and participated in various activities being organised at the Fair. Mr Sohail Mamood, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India also visited the Fair and donated several books for NBT’s ‘Har Haath Ek Kitaab’ initiative.
Mottainai Grandama, a Hindi-English bilingual book, recently published by National Book Trust, India was released at the International Events Corner. The book has been authored by Ms Mariko Shinju in Japanese and translated in Hindi by Shri Prem Prakash. Shri Baldeo Bhai Sharma, Chairman, NBT said that the book enlightens children about cleaning (swachhata) and to make this book more interesting for the children, illustrations have also been used. Mr. Yutaka Kikuta, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan; Mr. Takayoshi Tange, Senior Representative, Japan International Co-operation Agency, Ms Mariko Shinju and Shri Prem Prakash were also present on the occasion. Addressing the gathering, Dr Rita Chowdhury, Director, NBT said that both India and Japan have a tradition of storytelling by grandma, and therefore, she hoped that the book will attract the readers.
Theme Pavilion
Vigyan Prasar organised a panel discussion on ‘Climate Change Adaptation: Is India Ready’ at the Theme Pavilion. Moderated by Shri Dinesh C. Sharma, Vigyan Prasar, the speakers on the occasion were Dr Mustafa Ali Khan, Team leader, IHCAP and Shri Raman Mehta, Vasudha Foundation. The speakers discussed climate change and its impact on agriculture and weather patterns. They also discussed about the adaptation approaches that may be applied for climate change.
Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi organised a book release cum discussion at the Theme Pavilion. During the programme the books Climate Change Now: The Story of Carbon Colonisation, Climate Change: For the Young and Curious, and Getting to Know about Environment, authored by Ms Sunita Narain, distinguished environmentalist were released. The other speakers on the occasion were Dr Navroz, Shri Krishna and Shri Shrishant. The speakers discussed about the reasons behind climate change like pollution, garbage and industrial waste disposal among others.
Children’s Pavilion
Children had an opportunity to interact with the well-known children’s authors including Dr Dinesh Chamola, Rajnikant Shukla, Kishore Srivastava, Manas Ranjan Mahapatra and Sangeeta Sethi at the Children’s Pavilion. Stories like Bachpan Kitna Pyara Hota Hai and patriotic songs like Aao Bachhon Tumhe Dikhayen Jhanki Hindustan Ki, etc. A large number of children from various schools and NGOs participated in the session. Later, a painting competition on the theme ‘Har Haath Ek Kitaab’ was organised in which more than 80 students participated. A lively song presentation by Sangita Institute of Performing Arts enthralled the visitors at the Pavilion.
Children had an opportunity to interact with the well-known children’s authors including Dr Dinesh Chamola, Rajnikant Shukla, Kishore Srivastava, Manas Ranjan Mahapatra and Sangeeta Sethi at the Children’s Pavilion. Stories like Bachpan Kitna Pyara Hota Hai and patriotic songs like Aao Bachhon Tumhe Dikhayen Jhanki Hindustan Ki, etc. A large number of children from various schools and NGOs participated in the session. Later, a painting competition on the theme ‘Har Haath Ek Kitaab’ was organised in which more than 80 students participated. A lively song presentation by Sangita Institute of Performing Arts enthralled the visitors at the Pavilion.
Literary Activities
At Sahitya Manch, the books Mujhe Ban Na Hai UPSC Topper and All About UPSC Civil Service Exam were released. Shri Nishant Jain, IAS and Shri Dayal were the speakers on the occasion. They interacted with the audience and said that hard work is the key to success and we need to focus on our aim. In one of the literary programme at Lekhak Manch, 53rd volume of the magazine in Hindi Vyangya Yatra was released.
At Sahitya Manch, the books Mujhe Ban Na Hai UPSC Topper and All About UPSC Civil Service Exam were released. Shri Nishant Jain, IAS and Shri Dayal were the speakers on the occasion. They interacted with the audience and said that hard work is the key to success and we need to focus on our aim. In one of the literary programme at Lekhak Manch, 53rd volume of the magazine in Hindi Vyangya Yatra was released.
At the Conversations Authors’ Corner, a discussion on challenges faced by libraries in digital era was organised. The speakers on the occasion were Dr. Mohd. Sultan Omar, former Professor, Jamia University; Dr. Lata Suresh and Shri Sudhir Gandotra. The speakers were of the view that libraries are the primary source of knowledge, be it a digital library or otherwise. They encouraged people and especially students to start exploring libraries.
At the Reflections author’s corner, a discussion on ‘equilibrium between sustainable development and environment- realistic or utopian’ was organised. On this occasion, Dr. R. Rajagopalan, an environmental economist spoke on the need to contemplate on our needs and environment.
