Indo-Pak tension melts at book fair
11 Feb 2013 6:34 AM IST
Inspite of tension between India and Pakistan brewing, New Delhi World Book fair saw a surge in sales of books from Pakistan stalls.
More than 100 publishers from various countries, including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, had installed their counters.
What surprised the Pakistani publishers was that not only Muslims but people from other communities also showed interest in Islamic religion, history, poetry and literature.
Iqbal, running a Pakistani Book stall, said, ‘People were demanding the translated version of Quran in Hindi and English. Visitors were primarily interested in the religious and historical texts of Islam.’
According to Arshad, a member of the National Book Foundation of Pakistan, ‘I sold 1,000 titles related to Islamic literature to visitors from all communities.’
Sayra Baanu, another publisher, said, ‘We are participating in this fair for the last 15 years. This year, I sold around 1,500 titles, many more than last year.’
Books of authors such as Ahmad Front, Parveen Sarkar and Iswaq Ahmed sold like hot cakes.
One of the visitors, Navneet, said he purchased only through good literature and events like World Book fair, there would be more unity between India and Pakistan.
The fair ended on Sunday and nine stalls were reserved for Pakistani publishers.
More than 100 publishers from various countries, including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, had installed their counters.
What surprised the Pakistani publishers was that not only Muslims but people from other communities also showed interest in Islamic religion, history, poetry and literature.
Iqbal, running a Pakistani Book stall, said, ‘People were demanding the translated version of Quran in Hindi and English. Visitors were primarily interested in the religious and historical texts of Islam.’
According to Arshad, a member of the National Book Foundation of Pakistan, ‘I sold 1,000 titles related to Islamic literature to visitors from all communities.’
Sayra Baanu, another publisher, said, ‘We are participating in this fair for the last 15 years. This year, I sold around 1,500 titles, many more than last year.’
Books of authors such as Ahmad Front, Parveen Sarkar and Iswaq Ahmed sold like hot cakes.
One of the visitors, Navneet, said he purchased only through good literature and events like World Book fair, there would be more unity between India and Pakistan.
The fair ended on Sunday and nine stalls were reserved for Pakistani publishers.
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