On Saturday, the enthusiasm, the passion and the eagerness to read more and more books brought the people of Delhi to the world of books at Pragati Maidan. A large number people waiting for their turn in the queues to buy fair tickets at Metro stations could be seen. Each and every hall, and the stalls of different publishers from across the country witnessed the arrival of huge crowd of book lovers. Over one and half lakh people visited the book fair on the second last day. the book fair ends on Sunday.
Children’s Pavilion
National Book Trust, India organised a conversation with Shri Rajeev Ranjan at Children’s Pavilion. Shri Rajeev Ranjan talked about the role of police In India and discussed the aspects of road safety. According to him, “The police does not come from an alien planet, they are the people from amongst us. We should not take them as strangers.“ He also talked about the life of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, significance of Sarnath Stupa and Buddhism, etc.
To help children learn the different ways to narrate stories, a workshop titled ‘Let’s Tell Tales,’ was organised by Katha at the Children’s Pavilion. Children from Katha narrated two stories viz. Kaanch ka Ped and Abba’s Day. A large number of children from Udaan, an NGO, Katha and Sangeeta Institute of Performing Arts were present on the occasion.
The disabled children from the Delhi Society for the Welfare of Special Children presented a skit on girl child (Beti Bachao, Beti padao). In addition, a musical performance was given by the children of Sangeeta Institute of Performing Arts.
Theme Pavilion
A Malwai Gidha performance, organised by National Book Trust, India in collaboration with Punjabi Akademi, Delhi, took place at Theme Pavilion, Hall no. 7E. The bustling group presented an amazing performance for the audience. The participants Sukhwant Singh Bandhesha, Jagjit Singh Shergil, Darshan Singh Patil, Balbir Singh Gill, Bhola Kulheri, Nirmal Singh, Ranjit Singh, Kamal Sharma, Bhupinder Jhaij, Nirlep Singh, Sukhwinder Sukhi, Gurdev Singh Drumer and Pritam Singh Rupali are all above age fifty, yet they left no stone unturned to show enthusiasm and energy in their Gidha performance.
At Theme Pavilion, ‘Swaranjali’ a musical programme reflecting the culture and tradition of Maharashtra was organised. The program started with Shri Ganesh Vandana. Marathi artists Shri Jeevan Talgaonkar and his group presented traditional folk music. After this, a colorful presentation of the famous folk dance of Maharashtra, Lavani, was performed by Ms. Sujata Nandeshwar and her group. The artists presented the dance in their traditional costumes. The programme was conducted by Ms Anju Kamble.
Author’s Corner
At Lekhak Manch, a discussion on Indian languages and their global presence was organised by Yuva Sanstha in which Ms Mridula Sinha, Hon’ble Governor of Goa, Shri Yatindra Mishra, well-known author and Shri Bhagwan Das Morwal, novelist was also present.
To discuss about the various aspects of ‘The Great Indian Book Bazaar,’ a discussion was organised at Author’s Corner, Hall no. 8. Moderated by Ms Neeta Gupta, the panelists were: Ms Meera Johri, Rajpal; Ms Aditi Maheshwari Goyal; Vani Prakashan; Shri Alind Maheshwari, Rajkamal Prakashan; Shri Yatindra Mishra, well-known author and editor; Shri Naveen Chaudhary, Oxford University Press and Shri Gaurav Sabharwal, Prakash Books. During the session, the speakers discussed about the use of social media, ecommerce, translations, distribution, self publishing and the challenges faced by publishers to promote and sell books. They also talked about if Indian publishing industry could become a global market.
An interaction with authors Maneesha Aggarwal, Ranjeet Singh Arora, Geetika Saigal and Antar Atreya, was organised by Invincible Publisher at Author’s Corner, Hall No. 8. Ruchika Khanna was the moderator of the event. During the session, the authors introduced their recently published books to the audience. Ranjeet Singh Arora, wrote his debut book ‘When Blessings Come’, along with two other books about banking. He mentioned, being a banker, his personality has contradicted what his job had demanded, but he somehow survived thirty decades in this industry. Geetika Saigal shed some light on her new book ‘Finding your G Spot’ and how it aimed at exploring one self. Further, Antar Atreya talked about his book ‘Chronicles of the Mortal Vishnu’ and how the book is for readers who like fantasies with logic.
The youngest entrepreneur awardee of India, Dr. Anand G Naik, launched his debut book ’18 but not Teen’ at Author’s Corner, Hall no. 8. Organised by Turquoise Publishers, the session was moderated by Mousumi K Sachdeva. Ms Neeta Arora, Principal, Shri Venkateshwara International School, was the chief guest. While interacting with the audience, the debutant author, Dr. Anand G Naik said he decided to write this book four years ago. But when he faced failures in business due to lack of exposure and experience, the book modified into a zeal to improve oneself. He also talked about the problems that he faced in his college days. Ms Neeta Arora, was of the view that the real purpose of education is to explore oneself. She said this book is a guide to the youths to attain optimistic tolerance.
Authors Guild of India in collaboration with National Book Trust, India organised a day-long seminar on ‘Books for Readers with Special Needs’ at Hall no. 8. During the first session, the speakers including Dr Shyam Singh Shashi, Dr Prem Singh, Dr Jagdish, Dr Lily Gupta and Dr Shivshankar Avasthi discussed about the reading needs of persons with special needs. They emphasised on the need for more and more libraries, audio books, recorders and other helpful tools for differently abled readers. They also talked about celebrities like Sudha Chandran, Ravindra Jain, Louis Braille among other. Several books were also released including Aadmi Ka Sach, Zindagi Ka Canvas, Kavya Kalash and Sahitya Tab Aur Abb.
Cultural Programmes
Every evening several cultural programmes for visitors are being organised at Hamsdhwani Theatre. The visitors are participating in these events enthusiastically. Today, Urdu poets mesmerised the book lovers with their shayari (poetry). The poets included Mansoor Usmani, Naseem Ahmed, Salma, Muheem Shahbad among others.
