Bangalore book fair cancelled

 For the first time in a decade, the Bangalore Book Festival will not be held this year as the organisers of the annual event called it off following refusal by the state Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) to permit it beyond three days.

Hence, the 11th edition of the festival, originally scheduled to be held at Bangalore Palace Grounds here from November 29 to December 8, stands cancelled.

Bangalore Booksellers and Publishers Association Secretary Devaru Bhat told Deccan Herald that the festival would not be viable if it was held only for three days.
“Crowds turn up mostly during the weekends. Monday to Friday, the footfalls are low. When they can allow commercial ventures such as Snow City for an entire year and a Navarathri event for nine days, why not a 10-year-old literary event that will benefit everyone?” contended Bhat.

From literary competitions for school and college students to live debates and free entry for the young ones, the organisers had planned a unique fair for this year. The idea was to give a much-needed boost to the dying habit of reading. Several book stores in the City have already closed down.

The DPAR had initially ruled that the fair cannot be held at all this year. It had cited a government notification of December 21, 2012, which banned commercial activities on Palace Grounds. However, the association reasoned that the notification cannot be valid since it was challenged in the Supreme Court by Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar and the apex court was yet to deliver its verdict.

Following a plea by the festival organising committee, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had directed the DPAR to allow the fair for three days as a special consideration. On November 26, the association received a letter from the DPAR seeking three dates that would not overlap with other events on Palace Grounds.

However, it was too late by then for the association to inform the outstation booksellers, especially those from Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

“The booksellers there had already despatched several loads of books. About 350 stalls were booked and the money was paid. We now have to spend a big amount to compensate them. We didn’t get proper information in time,” complained an association member.

The organisers are certain that they would be back in 2014 only if the fair was allowed over two weekends and the permission granted a month in advance. “We need that kind of time to reorganise.”

Since 2003, the Bangalore Book Festival has been a regular calendar event, attracting hordes of bibliophiles to Palace Grounds. Last year, the fair—held between December 14 and 23—had recorded over a lakh footfalls.