World Book Fair to begin from Saturday, focus on environment

With a major focus on environment and climate change, the 45th edition of New Delhi World Book Fair is all set to begin from Saturday.

To be held at Pragati Maidan and co-organised by the National Book Trust (NBT) and ITPO, the Theme Pavilion will highlight various environment-related issues like climate change, global warming, water pollution and other relevant matters.

"Environment is a topic which needs to be given more attention. We need to focus more on this subject, generate more awareness for our better future. A especially designed Theme Pavilion has been made this year from environmental-friendly material like bamboo, cane, jute and others," NBT Chairperson Baldeo Bhai Sharma said at a press conference.

The fair also marks the return of a publisher from Pakistan as last year only one distributor had set up a stall. However, Sharma sought to downplay this, stating that there are many other international publishers participating in the book fair and urged visitors to show equal interest on them.

"Why focus only on Pakistan? There are so many publishers from India who have good books in Urdu; there many publishers from abroad who have good offerings. The focus should be on all the publishers participating at the book fair," Sharma said.

The annual book fair will see around 800 publishers from across the country in different languages. The event, spread over 30,000 sq m, will have more than 1,500 stalls.

However, NBT Director Rita Chowdhary told IANS that number of stalls have marginally reduced because of the renovation work at the Pragati Maidan.

"We have received large number of applications for participation this year, but we couldn't allot stalls to all. The space has reduced compared to last year because of the construction work. This has certainly affected us," Chowdhary stated.

This edition will see the European Union as the Guest of Honour. The especially designed EU pavilion will showcase the rich and dynamic European culture and literature. The EU member states will exhibit select publications in English and other European languages and will organise panel discussions, talks, workshops, children's activities, screening of short films, special photo exhibits as well as cultural and musical performances.

Apart from the European Union, the fair will also see participation from other countries like Egypt, Mexico, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UAE, Britain and others.

The book fair will also have a pavilion dedicated to reading material for children. The pavilion will have a number of activities like seminars, panel discussions, storytelling sessions, workshops on creative writing and illustrations among others will be organised by the National Centre for Children's Literature, a wing of NBT.

The author's corner will feature prominent literary faces like Ruskin Bond, Rakshanda Jalil, Jairam Ramesh, Seema Mustafa, Jerry Pinto, Michael Creighton, Paro Anand, Bulbul Sharma, Prerna Bindra, Ranjit Lal, Gillian Wright and many others.

FAQs:

Entry fee: Rs 20 (children) Rs 30 (adults)

Timing: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tickets: Available at Pragati Maidan Gate Nos 1 and 10; Online; At select Metro Stations.

--IANS

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