World Book Fair to focus on writings from NE
Source: The Sangai Express / Press Trust of India
New Delhi, February 12 2015 :
Emerging literary voices from the northeast is the theme of the New Delhi World Book Fair, which begins here on February 14 with Singapore being the guest country and South Korea the focus country.
A total of 30 countries are participating in the fair, which began in 1972 and is now considered "a major international event in Asia" .
Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani is scheduled to inaugurate the nine-day fair organised by the National Book Trust (NBT) in association with the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) at Pragati Maidan.
"It is a celebration of books.
Our aim is to let people reach the books and feel the books," A Sethumadhavan, Chairman, NBT said today.
Eminent Hindi writer Narendra Kohli will be the guest of honour for the Fair themed on "Suryodaya: Emerging Voices from Northeast India" which is expected to see discussions, workshops and interactive sessions with authors and illustrators.
The NBT will focus on a rich corpus of writings from the northeastern region, the land and its people.
The theme pavilion would also host a series of panel discussions on various aspects of writings, films and history of the region.
"We have been trying to focus on cultural milieu of the northeast and several programmes focusing on northeast will also be organised," Sethumadhavan said.
In collaboration with FCCI are two events CEOSpeak, a brainstorming session on February 15 on the problems faced by Indian publishing industry, and 'Rights Table' on February 16-17, in which 80 participants from India and 27 countries including Bangladesh, Taiwan, Tehran, the US among others will participate.
Also on the cards is a visit by cricketer Virender Sehwag who is slated to interact with visitors at the fair and encourage them to connect with books.
"Our endeavour is to make the Book Fair more interactive.
Our primary idea for organising book fairs is to promote reading habit especially among young adults," M A Sikandar, Director of NBT, said.
Singapore has lined up various literary programmes at 'Events Corner' themed on "Diverse Culture Distinct Literature." Over 10 countries have programmes in the events corner.
"This World Book Fair is important for us as it addresses the main issue � the Asian problem.
We do not read about each other as our books are not available and are in different languages," R Ramachandran, Executive Director, National Book Development Council of Singapore, said.
South Korea will be participating with a 12-member delegation led by Koh Young-soo, president of Korean Publishers Association.
A select list of about 200 books published in Korea would be the focus of attraction.
The books displayed will mostly be children's books, comics, contemporary literature and titles on history, art and culture of Korea.
Nearly 30 countries including Singapore, South Korea, Australia, China, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Iran, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Poland, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, UAE, the US, Sweden, Cuba, Austria, and international bodies like WHO, UNESCO, EUNIC among others, will be either displaying books in the 'Foreign Pavilion' or organising programmes.
The NBT through its National Center for Children's Literature will put up a special pavilion for children and exhibit a number of books, magazines and journals on various aspects of children's literature in Indian languages.
Well-known authors, illustrators, storytellers and professionals like Usha Venkataraman, Aabid Surti, Prayag Shukla, Madhu Pant, Ajit Nainan, Sudhir Tailang, Rajnikant Shukla among others are scheduled to interact with children.
Eminent authors and literary personalities will also have reading sessions and interaction with book lovers at various 'Authors' Corners' .
Visitors can download a special mobile app 'NDWBF 2015' for Android and iphones to enable them to navigate the stalls and pavilions.
The other features at the fair include special art and craft workshops, creative writing or drawing competitions for children and cultural programmes.
Entry ticket for adults will be Rs 20, and Rs 10 for school children.
Tickets can also be purchased at 37 major metro stations and NBT book shops at Kashmere Gate and Viswavidyalaya.
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