80,000 visit book fair, kids’ pavilion is main draw

NEW DELHI: It’s children’s day out on the second day of the 20th New Delhi World Book Fair, with the kids’ pavilion turning out to be the major attraction. Otherwise, too, the fair saw an unprecedented rush, with over 80,000 visitors making the most of the Sunday.
Young book lovers head for hall No. 14 dedicated to children’s and educational books.Nearly all of 150-odd exhibitors had a busy day. Apart from regular text and reference books, lots of innovative stuff were also on offer. “3D movie theatre storybooks, music player storybooks, audio books and learning tools are making the fair interesting. It is showcasing new ways of learning. The quality of books has also improved, which is definitely going to help inculcate the habit of reading,” said Sanjukta Sen of Rohini, a parent.
“The variety is making the fair interesting this time. There are now good reading materials and children’s literature even in regional languages, which are packaged in an attractive way,” said Vikash Singh, a visitor.
The participating book publishers, however, feel that more students would have visited the fair had it been planned in December or January. “Though the number of visitors has increased manifold so far, students of Classes X and XII students are missing because of the Board exam,” said an executive at Indian Book Depot.
For the organizers, the beginning has been the best so far in the history of the fair. “Today more than 80,000 visitors came to the fair, which is much beyond our expectation. We are expecting 30% rise in the number of visitors this year,” said M A Sikandar, director, the National Book Trust that organizes the fair.
Another attraction of the day has been the panel discussion, ‘Book to reel’, where poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar and actor Satish Kaushik released the book The Company Red. Akhtar spoke about Indian literature and transposition of a novel into a film at the theme pavilion on 100 years of Indian cinema.
Eminent theatre and film personality Sushma Seth, who has worked in popular television serial Hum Log and several films like Kalyug, Silsila, Prem Rog, 1942: A Love Story and Kal Ho Na Ho read out passages from her book, Stageplay: The Journey of an Actor.
Under the section, Literature that Walks, Talks and Sings, a popular black and white Hindi movie of 60s, Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam — directed by Abrar Alvi and produced by Guru Dutt, was screened.