The New Delhi World Book Fair 2019, despite facing a space crunch, showcased everything from documentaries to vintage and antique books as well as international dialogues, says Chahak Mittal
So many books, so little time. This is the feeling one gets when one enters the New Delhi World Book Fair. One feels practically submerged in a sea — which promises to make you travel far — without having to move so much as an inch.
While the nine-day fair saw a number of publication houses, authors and poets and readers participating in literary dialogues, the eighth day of the fair saw several book releases. One of them was controversial author Taslima Nasreen’s Besharam. The book is a sequel to her bestselling novel Lajja.
The fair registered a footfall of approximately six lakh visitors this year.
However, the 2019 edition also grabbed eyeballs of not only book lovers but also of some casual onlookers as well.
Theme pavilion
While 2018’s theme for the fair was environmental issues, this year it focussed on books for ‘Readers with special needs.’ The theme’s idea was to emphasise on more inclusive learning and reading through visual, verbal, silent-tactille and integrated Braille books for the differently-abled. It explored various issues and dimensions of producing, creating and disseminating content for readers.
One of the major highlights of the theme presentation was the ‘We Care International Disability Film Festival.’ The festival featured over 45 documentaries from 27 different nations — India, Canada, US, South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Hong Kong and several European countries — during the nine-day fair. It mostly featured achievements and successes of people with special needs around the globe.
The pavilion also included an exhibition curated specially by the All India Confederation of the Blind (AICB) for the attendees to learn about how different instruments can be used by persons with special needs.
Cross-border interactions
Taking the centre-stage, a corner at the foreign pavilion featured books and sessions from United Arab Emirates. It curated a number of literary talks and artistic activities by Sharjah also witnessing traditional Emirati performances by its National Band. The activities focussed on the shared cultural connect between the Arab world and India.
Books from different countries are the best references to learn about a new culture and society. Another project from Sharjah showcased around 57 Arabic books that will be translated and soon made available in Hindi. The project aimed to facilitate a better understanding of Arabic literary style, culture and writing.
Many UAE and Indian publishers highlighted the need to give young readers myriad options and bring forth the common challenges they face across geographic borders rather than just trying to transmit values through books.
The foreign pavilion also featured cultural dialogues and books from 20 countries including Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Egypt, Poland, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi, China, Japan, Iran, Kenya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Sharjah, Singapore, and USA, among others. One of the special features were the stalls by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Special attractions
We all know about various established publishing houses that cater to our bookworm mindsets. However, bookstores situated at corners of the city offer the best experience. Similar was the case at the fair.
At hall number 12, a book stall named Kapoor & Sons had put on sale some vintage and antique books that are no longer available in print. The stall was almost a hallowed space for avid readers and even historians. It featured magazines, whose published dates hailed back to the 1980s and 90s. It exhibited books like Lenin: Letters from Afar, Leo Tolstoy’s Childhood in their vintage covers, pages of which had started to decay because of their age. There were some books, whose publication highlighted an era even before the retro — 1950s. One of the best features of the stall were the antique Marvel comics with stories of The Mighty Thor, Iron Man, Powerpuff Girls, Superman, Avengers, The Dark Knight, among others that today celebrated their 30th anniversaries.
Other stalls featured book houses that had put on sale the books by weight or by quantity.
There was yet another stall — Navrang Printers — that grabbed several eyeballs as it showcased a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was carved in his shape and size. The life-sized book titled Narendra Modi- Ek Sakaratmak Soch, was a compilation of his quotes from his Mann ki Baat programmes. The publisher and author, Apurva Shah said, “The book seems to be just a cut out when they look at it from afar, but when we tell them that it’s a book, they find the concept very interesting. People get amazed.”
Space crunch due to construction
However, while there were special attractions, the nine-day fair also faced some major challenges.
The venue — Pragati Maidan — itself seemed to pose a major problem for the visitors as well as booksellers and publishers. Due to construction and renovation held at the venue, the shortage of space was felt acutely. As compared to its previous editions, the place had squeezed to half of its 40,000 square metres with lesser number of stalls packed into small and enclosed spaces. The number of publishers participating had also gone down from 800 to 600. The stalls saw a sharp decrease from more than around 2,500 to about only 1,300.
Many publishers claimed that they have not received the best accommodation or location that “they had wanted.” (The fair ended yesterday.)