Children are like wet clay, who can be modeled the way they want to be and what better than books can be for this purpose which are the primary source of knowledge.
A large number of book lovers are visiting the New Delhi World Book Fair 2016 which being held at Pragati Maidan. Thursday, being a working day did not deter the book enthusiasts to visit the Fair, who very keenly shopped and looked around for their favourite books at the stalls of regional language books, spiritual books, self help books, textbooks, fiction and non-fiction books.
The main attraction at the fair is Hall No. 14, which has drawn a huge crowd consisting of children, parents, teachers.
It comprises of the stalls from various children’s books publishers from across the country and the other interesting feature is the children’s Pavilion. Put up by the National Book Trust, India, it attracts a number of book lovers. Several activities for and by children are being organised at the pavilion by the Trust in collaboration with various schools, NGOs and other organisations working in the field. The children get an opportunity to meet their favourite authors, illustrators, have reading and storytelling sessions with them, participate in the workshops on creative writing, illustrations etc. For the children’s writers, teachers, librarians, panel discussions, seminars are also being organised. The Children’s Film Society is screening the popular films for children at the pavilion every day like Anmol Tasveer, Aasman Se Gira, Ek Ajooba Hai.
The other special features of the Pavilion include the illustrator’s corner put up the Riyaz Academy to encourage young artists, a corner for children as well as teachers by IL&FS informing about the learning aids, a corner by Care India making people aware about the need to educate children especially girls; Reading Corner where the book lovers can read books and know about the National Centre for Children’s Literature Library which has a collection of books on children’s literature in Indian as well as in foreign languages.
The galore of events organised at the children’s Pavilion on Thursday included a workshop on animation by Gioia Smid, Director, Fiep Amsterdam, Netherlands; a skit by children based on ‘Mangu Mali aur Ambia’ by noted children’s author Subhadra Sengupta and published by Pratham Books; a programme on girls’ literacy and reading habit titled ‘Beti Padhe Desh Badhe’; a panel discussion on literacy through literature and a discussion on connecting children to community libraries, among others.
A panel discussion on the topic ‘Indian Epics as Reflected in Indian Regional Language and Literature’ was organised at the Theme Pavilion. The speakers, Sanjiv Kumar, Thanuja Bhattathiri and Dr Avanijesh Avasthi, discussed about the Indian epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana which have been interpreted by the authors in regional languages.
A talk on the book Global Game Change, authored by John Nasbitt and Doris Nasbitt at China Pavilion was also held. The speakers, including the authors and Rudra Narayan Sharma of Sage Publications, discussed about the book and significant issues like economic and political conditions in China and India, role being played by the entrepreneurs in fulfilling social responsibilities and changing trends in the publishing industry.
A number of books were released at the Fair including Bal Krishan Garg Ke Bal Geet, authored by Bal Krishan Garg, Miraculous Power of the Subconscious Mind authored by N K Sharma among others.
The panel discussions on Hindi literature and Premchand - noted Hindi author and Poets’ Meet were some of the literary events that engaged the visitors.