It is time for all the bookworms to rejoice!
The 22{+n}{+d}edition of the Delhi Book Fair at Pragati Maidan opened to the public on Saturday. An annual affair, the nine-day event has been organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) in association with the Federation of Indian Publishers. It was inaugurated by Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan.
“The power of books is immense. They can transform anybody’s life. It is, therefore, important to get more and more students involved in books that are beyond the curriculum,” the Minister said.
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Day one of the event, which has over 250 national and international publishers participating, also saw the inauguration of a guide and mobile application — that offers locations of exhibitors — to aid the visitors.
This year, it is not just books calling out to Delhiites. The book fair also highlights the Central government’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan that looks to promote higher education and computer literacy.
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The theme pavilion houses national campaigns like Make in India, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Digital India, Skill India, Startup India, Smart Cities, and Umang (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) that have been launched in the last two years.
The pavilion itself has been transformed into a selfie station for visitors to click with cut-outs of the campaigns.
More interactive this year
There is a wide range of fiction and non-fiction from both Indian and international best-selling authors, academic books and children’s literature to choose from. Among the major attractions were books on Prime Minister Narendra Modi that were housed in a pavilion where biographies and books on other prominent personalities were displayed.
Also, this time the organisers have tried to keep the visitors more involved by including book-reading sessions, film screenings, quizzes, street plays and storytelling sessions.