The 33rd Jamshedpur book fair will begin from November 10. The number of stalls will be 72. The Jamshedpur Book Fair at Rabindra Bhavan in Sakchi is one of the biggest events in the city. The fair will continue till November 19.  The fair will be inaugurated by East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Amit Kumar.

A number of events would take place during the 10-day extravagansa. Also lined up are various cultural events by students of Tagore School of Arts.  An inter school quiz competition will also be organised.

Ashis Chowdhury, member of the society, said that books in English, Hindi, Bengali, Santhali and Gurumukhi would be available in the fair. “Book lovers eagerly wait for the annual fair. Our basic idea is to promote rich literature of different languages and so were keen to have books of all regional languages at the fair,” said Chowdhury.

He also said that all precautionary measures such as installing CCTV, fire-fighters, dog squad have been made to ensure life and property during the fair.

"Our priority is having quality publishers and not just quantity. We would like book lovers to come and enjoy books to cultivate a reading habit," said the secretary of Tagore Society.

In view of the demands of the students, this time in fair textbooks and recommended books will also be available apart from regular books.

He said that the fair would be an equal mix of books from educational to fictional.

The focus would also be on books on regional languages like Gurumukhi, Urdu and Santhali etc. “Though sale of books have increased over the years but we want to develop reading habits among the people similar on the lines of western countries,” said the general secretary.

It may be mentioned that Tagore Society, a city based leading educational and cultural organisation, has been organising book fair from more than two decades. Celebrities like writer Mahashweta Devi, quizmaster Neil O’ Brien have participated in the fair. The organisers believe that the more children get exposure to a platform where publishers with so many books gather at one place. The interest in reading can thus be developed among children.