Delhi Book Fair inaugurated

Delhi Book Fair inaugurated

‘80,000 books are published in 22 languages annually across the country’

NEW DELHI: Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Saturday inaugurated the 14th edition of Delhi Book Fair (DBF) at Pragati Maidan here by lighting a ceremonial lamp.

After releasing a CD set titled “Talking Books”, Mr. Ansari evinced keen interest on a wide range of books and also purchased some of them.

Later, the Vice-President described himself as a bookworm and said he was extremely delighted to see a large number of books on varied subjects.

This year, Pakistan has put up a wide assortment of books in both Urdu and English at the fair and most of them are economically priced.

“We are displaying all kinds of books for children. Book on science and Islam are also available. In Pakistan, we organise training programmes in which we impart the basics of writing skills to those who want to make a mark as a writer. Cash prizes are given to those who have a flair for writing,” said Shaukat Ali from National Book Foundation of Pakistan.

Some of the important books brought from the neighbouring country include “Fatima Jinnah: Life and Works” on sister of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, “Are Women Human” and “The Rajputs” on the history, clan, culture and nobility of this warrior race. A collection of short poems in English titled “The Whispering Wind” was also vying for attention on the shelves. “We have been promoting the DBF at Frankfurt Book Fair for quite some time. As a result, this book fair has become an international event. As the theme of DBF is women’s writer we have invited important writers like Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen,” said Federation of Indian Publishers president R.C. Govil.

Pointing out that 80,000 books were published in 22 languages annually across the country, Mr. Govil said: “Indian publishers are also translating regional language books into French, Italian and other foreign languages. After Singapore, India is the most sought after destination for publishing books.”

Amitav Ghosh’s latest novel “Sea Of Poppies” attracted quite a few bibliophiles and some even loosened their purse strings to get hold of a copy. “I was hunting for Pupul Jayekar’s biography on Indira Gandhi and now I am a proud the owner of one. I have also bought ‘The Best of Ruskin Bond’ on the famous English writer based in Mussoorie and ‘The Name is Rajinikanth’,” said Anita Saxena, a school teacher from Noida.

The theme of the nine-day fair “Women Writers” acknowledges the growing contribution of women in this field. For lovers of art, popular magazine “The Great Artists” by Marshall Cavendish Weekly Collection was also up for grabs. Then there were travelogues, spiritual books and of course fiction.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/