A book fair by the Kerala Bhasha Institute that opened at the Police Club Hall here on Tuesday has its focus on books related to arts literature and music, in view of the State School Arts Festival that begins in the city on Thursday.
The fair, inaugurated by Minister for Panchayats M.K. Muneer, has a series of titles on different disciplines of art, including performing arts.
The recently published complete works of legends such as Muthuswami Deekshithar and Swathi Thirunal are some of the attractions in classical music literature while books on a series of musical instruments, including Mridangam, Veena and Idakka are expected to attract readers. Books on performing arts such as Kathakali, Nangiyarkoothu, Yakshaganam and Mohiniyattom are also on display.
A series of dictionaries brought out the by the institute, including the recently published folklore dictionary, Adivasi dictionary, linguistics dictionary, and the concise version of the famous Sabdhatharavali are on show.
The Bible dictionary titled Veda Sabdharatnakaram authored by former bureaucrat D. Babu Paul is a key attraction in this series.
In the concise biography series, the institute has introduced as many as 150 titles recently and the names vary from Apple founder Steve Jobs to legendary film-maker Akira Kurosawa and from poet Vallathol to Vaikom Mohammed Basheer. “Almost all of them are available at the fair,” says S. Krishnakumar, assistant director of the Kozhikode Centre of the State Institute of Languages.
The popular science series books brought out by the institute on subjects varying from mussel farming to space tourism are also on display, says Mr. Krishnakumar. There are 109 titles in the series.
A good number of spiritual books brought out by the institute are also included in the fair. “Selected tittles in this series such as the Sivaravindam and Vasistasudha by G. Balakrishnan Nair always have many takers,” he says.
Director of the State Institute of Languages M.R. Thampan presided over the inaugural function. Three books on Hindustani music, Mappila art forms and Thiruvathirakkali were released at the function.
The fair offers a reduction of 20 to 60 per cent in different segments. It will end on January 21
