Though computers and e-books have impacted the reading habit, the exhilarating display at book fests tempt people to buy and read books, said Chandrashekar Kambar, Jnanpith nominee, after inaugurating the Bangalore Book Festival 2011 organised by Bangalore Book Publishers Association on Palace Grounds here on Friday.
Pointing out that such festivals should be made a permanent affair, the writer said: “You should also consider taking such book festivals to other parts of the State, especially in district and taluk centres.”
A million titles
Organisers of the 10-day book festival — in its ninth edition — claimed the event to be south India's biggest ever festival.
With more than 340 stalls, it has nearly a million titles from 200 publishers under different categories and languages. Book sellers from across India — including Karnataka — and multinational publishing houses have set up shop here. Of these, nearly 80 stalls are displaying Kannada books.
The festival will include seminars which will be held in collaboration with the Federation of Publishers and Booksellers Associations of India. Topics will include book piracy, production and marketing of e-books, among others.
Other programmes
The other attractions are cultural programmes in the evenings comprising music, drama, magic and humour shows. Troupes from Gaana Vinodini, Nage Mallige Haasya, Shri Kikkeri Krishnamurthi and troupe, and Kadaba Sreenivasa (magic) will entertain visitors, organisers said.
Balram Sadhwani, President of the Bangalore Booksellers and Publishers Association said the association would continue to bring in continuous exposure and expertise in the form of business-to-customer platform through such festivals.
The festival is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Entry tickets are priced at Rs. 20 while it's free for senior citizensand students with valid ID cards.
