The city Corporation is all set to make a foray into the world of literature by organising a mega book fair next month.
The local body had teamed up with the National Book Trust (NBT) to organise the book fair to be held at the Putharikandam grounds from October 4 to 12, said Mayor K. Chandrika in a press conference here on Tuesday.
Poet O.N.V. Kurup would inaugurate the fair at 11 a.m. on October 4. Assamese writer Lakshmi Nandan Bora and Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar would be the chief guests at the function.
A first“This is the first time that a local body is organising a book fair. Hundreds of publishers will be displaying their books at the fair,” said Ms. Chandrika.
One of the highlights of the fair would be a lecture series titled ‘Ente bhasha, ente sahityam’, to be held at 6.30 p.m. on all days, in which writers from various languages would share their writing experiences. The lecture series was being held in association with the Culture Studies department of the University of Kerala.
Poet Sugathakumari would deliver the opening lecture. In the following days, Mr. Lakshmi Nandan Bora, Sahitya Academy (Hindi) President Vishwanath Prasad Tiwary, Tamil writer Sirpi Balasubramaniam, Kannada poet and playwright Mamta Sagar, Bengali writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyaya, Telegu writer N. Gopi, Gujarati poet Sitanshu Yashaschandra, and Shashi Tharoor would deliver the lectures.
Reading habit‘Aksharapura’, a special programme to promote the habit of reading among children, would be held on all days as part of the event, and students from various schools in the city would participate in debates and story telling sessions.
The debates to be held from October 7 to 12 would be based on the subjects ‘Changing Kerala’, ‘Changing society’ and ‘Changing reading habits’. Books of young authors would be released and students would also have opportunities to present their own writings.
Story tellingJeeva Raghunath, known for her story-telling sessions for children, would conduct sessions on October 6 and 7. Cultural programmes by students from various schools would be held from 7 to 8.30 p.m. on all days.
A documentary mela would also be held at 7.30 p.m. on all days, in which films on writers like Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, O.V. Vijayan, and Ayyappa Panikker would be screened.