The ten-day 11th Bangalore Book Festival, organised by the Bangalore Book Sellers and Publishers Association (BBPA) at Elaan Convention Centre, J.P. Nagar, was inaugurated by the Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala here on Friday.
“It is time that books replaced bouquets as gifts to people at formal and informal functions. The written matter is something permanent to cherish. This is what the Gujarat government adopted several years ago at all functions,” the Governor said, lauding the organisers for the huge effort that has brought in setting up nearly 150 stalls with lakhs of books in several languages.
He recalled that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had always insisted that everyone read a book for an hour every morning to ‘see their personality bloom.’ “Dr. Abdul Kalam, who is in Bangalore, has just presented me with a wonderful book that talks of how India should be in 2020,” he said. But for books, which act as a permanent documentation, how would people of all generations relate to history and mythology, or learn about great personalities, said the Governor.
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Others who spoke on the occasion were Nitin Shah, president, Bangalore Booksellers and Publishers Association; poet K.S. Nissar Ahmed; L. Hanumanthaiah, president, Kannada Development Authority; Banjagere Jayaprakash, president, Kannada Book Authority; and Devaru Bhat, secretary, BBPA.