One of the major attractions at the New Delhi World Book Fair, The Foreign Pavilion, is an eclectic ensemble of stalls hosting countries from as far as West Europe, East Europe, Middle East, Africa to Asia. The foreign participants are exhibiting books across genres that reflect the culture, experiences and ethos of different peoples. Many events, exchange programmes and discussions, reading sessions as well as presentations are being held the International Events Corner.
Children’s Pavilion
The sixth day at the Children’s Pavilion, began with workshop on ‘Let’s Draw Gandhi’. Shri Debabrata Sarkar, well-known artist and Ms Deepa Agarawal, well-known children’s author interacted with children. Deepa Aggarwal told children about how Gandhiji followed the principle of non-violence and his role in freedom struggle. A large number of children from Darshan Academy, Salaam Baalak Trust, Rajeev Gandhi Foundation, among others were part of this drawing and colouring activity.
An interactive session with Bravery award winning children was organised by Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Rouse Avenue at the Children’s Pavilion. The speakers on the occasion were: Shri Harishchandra Mehra, Shri Akshit, Ms Mahika Gupta. Shri Rajnikant Shukl, children’s writer moderated the session.
A story-weaving programme was also organized by Darshan Academy. The children were given a chance to explore their imagination via story writing. Shri R. N. Malviya, Chief librarian, Ansal University was the guest on the occasion. Children from various NGO’s participated in the competition.
A play on ‘Par Hamien Khelna Hai’ was performed by the artists of Wonderroom, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation at Children’s Pavilion. An adaption of Marathi play, written by Shrirang Godbole, it was based on incidents that happened soon after the Mumbai blasts.
Theme Pavilion
A quiz competition for children was organised by the Department of Justice, Govt. of India and Delhi Legal Services Authority at the Theme Pavilion. The quiz competition aimed at introducing and creating awareness among people about the Constitution of India, the Preamble and the Fundamental rights and duties. The quiz was followed by a discussion. Moderated by Shikha Hundal, legal consultant, the other speakers included Kanwaljeet Arora, Member Secretary, Gautam Manan, Special Secretary, Namrata Aggarwal, Additional Secretary and Chandrajeet, Secretary, DLSA; Nusrat Khan, Maria Faridi, Mahima Khera, legal consultants, Department of Justice and Shri Vinish and Ms Namira, law students National Law School, Ranchi. Students from Govt. Sr. Sec Boys School, Vasant Kunj, and Inderpuri participated in the quiz competition.
Business Meet with Trade Partners
As part of the various B2B sessions (business sessions) organized by National Book Trust, India on the sidelines of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2020, a session on Business Meet with Trade Partners was held in Hall 7.
Seminar Hall
A panel discussion on ‘Mahatma Gandhi and Hindi’, was organized by Nagari Lipi Parishad at Seminar Hall. Coordinated by Dr Hari Singh Pal, the other panelists included Dr Panchal, Shri Narayan Kumar, Shri Acharya Om Prakash, Shri Shyam Sunder Kathuria and Shri Rakesh Yadav, Deputy Director, NBT. The discussion focused on the status of Hindi and role of Mahatma Gandhi in promoting Hindi. Though Gujarati was his mother tongue, Mahatma Gandhi aimed at developing Hindi language amongst the citizens of India during his protests and marches. The speakers also expressed their concern over the diminishing use of Hindi among youths.
Author’s Corners
A North-eastern and North-regional Writers’ Meet was held at the Author’s Corner, Hall no. 8. The session was organised by Sahitya Akademi and was anchored by Sneha Choudhury. The speakers included prominent writers and poets, Shri Madhu Acharya, Dr. Sanjib Pol Deka, Shri Charan Singh Pathik, Shri Manas Ranjan Mahapatra, Shri Saalim Salim, Shri Gagandeep Sharma and Shri Jiten Oinamba. One of the speakers, Dr Sanjib Pol Deka narrated a story to the audience, titled ‘Shame’, in English. Shri Charan Singh Pathik enlightened the session by narrating a Hindi short story, called ‘Kaise Udi Chidiya’.
In another session at the Author’s Corner, the book ‘The Secret of Winning’ authored by Amardeep Thind was released. The release was followed by a discussion, where Amardeep Thind remarked, “when you overcome your fears and get out of your own way, you become a winner.” The other speakers on the occasion included Dr Priti Nanda Sibal, Amit Chawla, Ashutosh Kant, Gurpreet, Suruchi Sharma and Dinesh Verma.
Lekhak Manch
A discussion on bilingual dictionaries was organized by the ‘Central Hindi Directorate’ at the Lekhak Manch. During the program, the speakers discussed about the recently published dictionaries including Punjabi-Hindi Dictionary, Gujarati-Hindi Dictionary and Gujarati-Hindi Dictionary. The speakers also shared their experience in planning a dictionary and its vocabulary plan. They also talked about the need to increase the interaction between different Indian and foreign languages. On this occasion, the book, ‘Pravasi Ka Antardwand’ was also released. Information regarding the official YouTube channel Hindi Bhasha Vani and different projects of the Directorate was also given. The speakers on the occasion included Shri Shyam Singh Shashi, Shri Avanish Kumar, Ms Kiran Jha, Shri Deepak Pande and Prof. Yogendra Nath Sharma.
In one of the sessions at Lekhak Manch, the book ‘Parikrishtha Evam Sukhi Vatavaran,’ authored by Dr Sudha Kumari was released. Shri Pratap Sehgal, noted litterateur; Shri Prem Janmejya, well-known satirist; Pragya Rohini and Shri Divik Ramesh, well-known authors. The session was organized by Ashok Publications. In another programme, a discussion on an anthology of poems, ‘Vayyu Purush’ by Upendra Kumar was organized by Jan Kavi Naagarjun Smarak Nidhi. The panelists on the occasion included well-known litterateurs, Shri Manager Pande, Shri Om Prakash Singh, Shri Madan Kashyap and Shri Pranjal Dhar. Dr Dev Shankar Naveen coordinated the event.
A discussion on Prosperity of Hindi along with Other Indian Languages was organized by Central Institute of Hindi at the Lekhak Manch. Dr Kamal Kishore Goyenka presided over the session. The other panelists included Dr Yogendra Nath Sharma, Prof. Chandan Kumar, Shri Atul Kothari and Shri Nand Kishor Pande. A discussion on the book, ‘Kagaz Ki Naav,’ authored by Nasira Sharma, renowned author was organised by Kitabghar Prakashan at the Lekhak Manch. The guests on the occasion were Madhu Joshi, Alok Tewari, Sarojini Nautiyal among others.
