Peeking into the Kumbh Mela of books

The National Book Trust (NBT) headquarters is abuzz with preparations for the upcoming New Delhi World Book Fair 2017 (NDWBF), which is scheduled to be held from January 7 to January 15 at Pragati Maidan in the national Capital. The NBT Chairman Baldev Bhai Sharma, who is busy in finalising last minute preparations for the mega event, relates to Millennium Post the motives and themes of the fair while dubbing it as a ‘Kumbh Mela’ of books.

Stressing on developing appetite for reading books, Sharma said, “Our books are very important as school books help in getting a handsome job of obtaining higher degrees, but it’s the NBT books that help in achieving their right goals.  We all know that life is very important, but what is the right perspective of life? It’s the books, which are not part of school syllabus, that help readers in shaping up their lives.”

Explaining about the motives of the book fair, Sharma said, “The prime objective of this mega book fair is to amalgamate the new generation with our old cultures, which have been in practice for centuries. As world recognises Rig Veda as the first book of human life, which has several sutras of life buildings, the objective of this fair is to disseminate the valuable information  about our cultures and traditions among young generation by showcasing books in different  languages at the event.”

Rejecting the observations that in the age of technological advancements there is decline in readership, the NBT Chairman said, “It’s just a perception. Readers are not declining, rather it’s increasing. The size of footfall that this fair witnesses every year is self explanatory. Readers wait for a year to visit the kumbh of books. We also support technology as it is a need of the hour. We have started digitisation of NBT books to cater to the needs of young generations.”

“People are keen to read books, but they face two major roadblocks – the price of books and the non-availability of books in rural pockets of the country. There are 6 lakh villages in the country and despite their keen interest in reading, rural people cannot afford to travel to cities to buy books. The NBT is providing them books of their interest through ‘Parikrama Vans’ (Exhibition Bus) at cheaper rates at their door step,” Sharma said.

Giving details about the theme of the fair, the NBT Chairman said, “Given that it is the 60th anniversary of the NBT, we have set a separate pavilion with the theme “Focus on 60 years”. At the pavilion, we will showcase journey of the NBT in the last 60 years. The role of NBT in creating and developing Indian as well as world literature would also be on display at the show, which is the largest book fair in the Afro-Asian region,” Sharma said.

“In the history of NBT, we are going to publish a book in Sanskrit on the Father of the nation – Mahatma Gandhi. The name of the book is Gandhi Tattva Shatakam, which is authored by Sanskrit scholar and economist Mangesh Venkat Nadkarni. The book is in the form of 108 Sanskrit verses dedicated to the Mahatma’s life and thoughts, with their translations in English. The book will be released in the NBT’s book fair,” Sharma said.

The NDWBF will host a number of literary events, like seminars, discussions, book releases, workshops etc. In addition, the star attraction of the fair will be the Author’s Corner where authors will be provided a platform to share their literary journey with  book lovers, who can be present at the arena to catch a glimpse of their favourite author and interact with them.

Striking a difference between the book fairs that takes place in other parts of the world and NDWBF, Sharma said, “The book fairs that I have attended outside India are more trade based. It is a platform for publishers to meet and buy copyrights for a book, but in India, the fair is for the book lovers. It is for them to gather at a place where they can exchange ideas and thoughts and their affection for literature.”

Giving details about Parikrama Bus run by NBT, Sharma said, “The objective of a book fair is to emphasise on the missions and achievements by the public publisher for spreading the culture of reading into the remotest parts of the country. The Parikrama buses, which move in the villages and the remotest corners of the country, carry books which people in rural areas can purchase by paying a very nominal charge. The exhibition bus, which runs across the country, is proving to be a boon for book lovers as it is helping in spreading the reading culture.”

Recalling one such incident, Sharma said, “One of our vans was in the rural part of Odisha for nearly two months and when it returned back, we were really surprised with the number of books that were sold. Almost all books were sold and the buyers were villagers, which signify the importance of books among rural folks.”

“People want to read books, but we have to make the books of their choice available within their reach. It’s not that one opens a big bookshop in cities and can expect potential readers from villages to travel to towns, which will not work,” he added.