Keekli Reporter, 3rd July, 2014, Chakkar, Shimla
Ashima Sharma, Keekli Reporter, 1st-6th July, 2014, Shimla
Following the famous saying by Maya Angelou, “Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him,” the National Book Trust, India (NBT), an apex body established by Government of India in the year 1957 under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, organised the NBT Shimla Book Fair at Gaiety Theatre from 1st to 6th July. The fair was formally inaugurated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and on the occasion he advised publishing houses to adopt new technology to tap younger generation and suggested them to make good use of e-books.
Apart from an exhibition-cum-sale of books by publisher/booksellers from various parts of the country, the Book Fair showcased a range of literary events for promotion of reading habits. Many interesting stalls had been put up for the children such as Smart Class Learning which included DVDs and Books for all academic subjects in the school.
Many people who had keen interest in reading turned up for the event. Priya, a local resident said, “Book fairs are not a common sight in Shimla, so I am enjoying every bit of it. I have purchased three books, The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, The Adventures of Rusty by Quakes and Flames by Ruskin Bond”.
Another resident named Vanita Chauhan said, “I am a mother of two children and this book fair has many books and instructive DVDs for children. I have bought alphabets charts and sing along the rhymes on DVD for my children”.
Samarth Singh, a young tourist from Delhi said, “NBT is a very popular name in Delhi. They keep on organising book fairs on very large scale. I love reading books and I have bought some Sydney Sheldon books for myself and taking one book as a gift for my sister back in Delhi”.
Meenal Rakta, a student of St Bedes College, Shimla said while enjoying the fair, “The best part about this fair is there are a variety of books only at minimal price of Rs. 100. I have already bought a few and I guess will come back tomorrow for more”.
On being asked about the book fair the representatives of NBT said, “Reading habit is diminishing among children nowadays. Through book fairs like these we make an effort to bring variety of books under one roof to build up interest among children. Publishers from different places like Delhi, Ludhiana, Jalandhar have come up to display book in the fair. After Shimla, the book fair will be put up in Kashmir. The public response has been really good till now”.