Sold-out on the second day – Lakhs of visitors throng the New Delhi World Book Fair 2023

New Delhi World Book Fair 2023 on its second day saw the best of the Sunday crowd. Lakhs of visitors turned up at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi to partake in the biggest celebration of books, literature, conversations and culture of the year. Tickets for the Fair were sold out at the Supreme Court Metro Station and the organisers had to extend ticket sale timings to cater to the high demand.

The day started with key decision makers and stakeholders coming together for the CEOSpeak. In the series of the business sessions being organised at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2023, the CEOSpeak was organised at Ashoka hotel today by NBT-India in collaboration with FICCI, on ‘Opportunities in Book Trade Among G20 Countries’. In his address, Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of Education & Literacy, talked about setting up digital libraries in the country which would ensure easy access to content. He added that Internet connectivity offers us a great opportunity, and with data usage, we are moving from paper-based books to a digital world. Shri Yuvraj Malik, Director, NBT-India, talked about the publishing ecosystem and the policy front in Indian education sector wherein he highlighted the ‘National Education Policy’ which emphasizes on multilingualism which would create more opportunities for publishing industry. The event saw participation from CEOs, International Delegates from G20 countries and many Senior Executives from the publishing world.

Dedicated to India’s year of G-20 Presidency, the G-20 Pavilion (Hall No. 4) is exhibiting literature from G-20 member nations including India, France, Russia, Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and Turkey in various genres like fiction, non-fiction, history, economy, indigenous culture, etc. The wall of History, which has documented its journey in the previous years was a major attraction. The wall has the history, vision, and future goals of the member countries and the upcoming events that India has planned during its G-20 presidency well documented and showcased. The pavilion also has a sound shower which is an audio technology that lets you experience all there is to know about G-20.

In the Children’s Pavilion (Hall No. 3), back-to-back informative and interactive sessions saw enthusiastic participation from students throughout the day. The first event for the day was a storytelling session with Dr. Anita Bhatnagar Jain, where, through her stories, she talked about the importance of environment and wildlife conservation. In the next session, French Delegate Ms. Laura Nsafou narrated the story “Fariya and the Song of River” followed by an interactive session on climate change organised by Eklavya Foundation to increase awareness about climate change among young children. In the cartoon/caricature workshop, Shri Jignesh Chavda shared tips on caricature drawing. More than 100 students participated in the workshop. A storytelling session on “India’s unsung Tribal Freedom Fighters” was also held in the Children’s Pavilion by Shri Ved Mitra Shukla, Children’s Writer and Associate Professor, DU and Shri Vikash Kumar Singh, Children’s Literature Scholar and Assistant Professor, GGSIPU. The session was organised by HELP Foundation. The last session for the day was an Illustrators’ Meet where renowned illustrators Shri Subir Roy, Dr. Subir Dey, Shri Suddasattwa Basu and Ms. Vicky Arya talked about the role illustrations in children’s literature and the importance of using the right colours.

A book discussion on “Life is Abracadabra,” written by award winning international speaker Ms. Baisakhi Saha was organized in the Authors’ Corner (Hall No. 5). In the book the author has shared her life experiences, aiming to strengthen the readers’ belief in the possibility of achieving the unimaginable. The book launch of the English edition of “I was Judge’s Orderly” by Ninder Ghugianvi was also organized by the NBT-India at the Authors’ Corner. The event was graced by the presence of Chief Guest Hon’ble Justice Talwant Singh, High Court, Delhi; Guest of Honour Justice P S Teji, Former Judge, High Court Delhi Chairman, Police Complaints Authority, GNCT Delhi; Justice A.K. Tyagi, Former Judge, High Court, Punjab and Haryana; and profrssor Sachidanand Mishra, ICCR member secretary.

The Theme Pavilion (Hall No. 5) hosted a huge crowd throughout the day during its various sessions. The first session for the day was book launch of Shri Purna Chand Sharma’s “Haryana: Bhasha, Sahitya evam Sanskriti” by Dr. Lal Chand Gupta Magal, Dr. Virendra Chauhan, Director, Haryana Granth Academy and Shri Yuvraj Malik, Director NBT-India. In the session Prime Time Talk, Ms. Nitasha Devasare, MD, Taylor & Francis talked about her experiences in the publishing industry. In the next session “Tribal Writers’ Meet” organised by the Sahitya Akademi, Ms. Vandana Tete (Khadia), Shri Mahadev Toppo (Santhali), Ms. Yashoda Murmu (Santhali) and recited poetry in their respective languages.

The International Events Corner saw a series of sessions on Indian and world literature. The day began with two sessions with PM-YUVA Authors. In the first session “Discussing Experiences of Writing Historical Fiction” Nisar Ahmad, Author of Firang Ka Qaidi (Urdu), Jaspreet Kaur, Author of Ghadar di Raah ‘Te (Punjabi), Monika Rana,         Author of Kinarharu (Nepali), Madhav Sharma, Author of Shaheedon ki Shaan: Mangarh Dhaam in (Hindi), Nishtha Chhabra, Author of Cryptic Columns (English), and Ekshu Sharma, Author of Song of Chir (English) talked about trying to understand the lived experience of the freedom fighters and addressing the less talked about French colonisation in India. In the second session with PM-YUVA authors, Safiyah Akhter Subhani, Author of Tahreek e Azadi: Haaye Kiya Log Thhe Jo Daam e Ajal Mein Aaye (Urdu), Rani Unnamalai K, Author of Echoes of Patriotism: Nationalist Writings of India’s Freedom Struggle (English), Sartaj Singh, Author of Azadi Andolan de Angole Nayak in (Punjabi), JS Anantha Krishnan, Author of Bharati Padumpol (Malayalam), Madalsha Mani Tripathi, Author of Bharat Ke Swatantra Sangram Mei Manipur Ki Bhumika (Hindi) and Namrata Hazarika, Author of Satras in Transition:  Going Beyond Spirituality and Challenging British Rule (English) discussed their experience of writing Historical non-fiction narrative. Next was a session on “France is the Country of Picture Books!” with Ms. Susie Morgenstern, Mr. Benjamin Chaud and Ms. Laura Nsafou discussed the impact that picturebooks had on them when they were children that the books you read in your childhood are precious as you carry them with you forever.

The Amphitheatre opposite Hall No. 5 set the stage for the cultural and musical presentations for the entertainment of visitors of the fair. A performance by Kabir Cafe proved to be a crowd favourite as they performed musical renditions of Saint Kabir’s Dohas (couplets). Earlier in the day, the Asian Academy of Film & Television performed a Nukkad Natak and a musical performance by the CBC (Ministry of Information & Broadcasting) also took place.