The National Book Trust, India organised a book release function at the Theme Pavilion. During the function, three volumes of Akashwani Sahitya Sampada were released. The books have recently been published by the Trust under an MoU with Akashwani. These books contain the rare broadcast material of Akashwani. Several other books on traditional folk songs of India and other broadcast material will also be published under this programme. On this occasion, Shri Baldeo Bhai Sharma, Chairman, NBT said that NBT publishes a range of books, and publishing this kind of books is a matter of pride for the Trust. He added that we would like to carry forward this MoU and publish more books to disseminate the rich treasure of knowledge to the people of India. Shri A Suryaprakash, Chairman, Prasar Bharati said that the idea of converting broadcast material into books is a great idea. He added that these books would help in conserving our rich cultural heritage. Shri Fayyaz Sheheryar, Director General, All India Radio; Ms Supriya Sahu, Director General, Doordarshan; Dr Shailendra Kumar and Shri Maurya were also present on the occasion.
A discussion on the poetry of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India was held at Lekhak Manch. The programme was organised by Prabhat Prakashan. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change was also present on the occasion.
On the seventh day of the New Delhi World Book Fair, a large number of people visited the Fair so that they do not miss special attractions during the remaining days of the Fair and leave any opportunity to buy books and participate in the activities being organized at the Fair. Undoubtedly, the urge to gain more and more knowledge has increased and the primary source of knowledge and information are the books as technology though useful, cannot replace books. Readers of various age groups could be seen eagerly browsing through the pages of books and hand-bagged with their favorite books. In the book fair, literature in different languages of India and abroad is catching the attention of the people.
A number of cultural activities for book lovers are being organized at the New Delhi World Book Fair. The music and dance performances like traditional Bhangra-Gidda, Kathak dance, mushaira, devotional music etc. are enthralling the visitors.
Climate change has adverse effects on agriculture, thereby farmers are also facing several challenges to save their farming. Based on this theme, a meet with environmentalists was organised at the Theme Pavilion. Moderated by Dr Manoj Pateriya, the speakers on the occasion were Shri G Krishna Prasad, Green champion mentor and a strong advocate of organic farming, and Shri Biswajit Roy Chowdhury, earth watch scientist. The speakers shared their concerns about environment and how various methods can be adopted to preserve indigenous seeds and agriculture.
A workshop titled ‘Lets Create Radio Programme and Jingle’ was organized at the Children’s Pavilion. RJ Azhar Hajini, from Radio Kashmir, Srinagar, taught children the art of making radio programmes and jingles. He provided information regarding software and new techniques which are used in making jingles. Azhar Hajini said that clear pronunciation and proper word selection are extremely important in radio programmes.
Well-known storyteller Jayashree Sethi and Rishabh from Storyghar engaged children in a lively and interactive storytelling session. During the session, Jayshree narrated the story and enacted different characters of the story, while Shri Rishabh, along with his companion, composed songs on the story and played guitar. The children also sang some popular songs along with them.
Literary Activities
Prof. B. K. Kuthiala, Vice Chancellor of Makhan Lal Chaturvedi University released an anthology of poetry Heera Ke Ikkavan Moti by Hira Lal. While releasing the book, Prof. B. K. Kuthiala, said that established poets used literary language in their compositions, whereas the poetry emerging from one’s heart is a real poetry. On this occasion Shri Baldeo Bhai Sharma, Chairman, National Book Trust, India; Prof. Suresh Chand Singhal; Bhai Satya Dev Chaudhary; Shri Jagdish Roy Goyal, social activist; Shri Irfan, well-known cartoonist; Dr. O P Yadav, Editor of DD News; Shri Saurabh Shrivastav, Editor, Dainik Jagran; Shri T P Tiwari; Dr Premi Ram Mishra and Shri Atul Singhal, senior journalist were also present.
A discussion on the book Osho’s Death: The Untold Story authored by Abhay Vaidya was organised at Reflections Authors’ Corner. He says that his book contains everything about Osho that was necessary to explain his death. He says, “The fascinating thing about Osho was that he was a very good reader and carried 70-80 books at a time and was also a philosophy teacher and his commentary on religion and spirituality was the attractive part.”
