The last Sunday of October proved to be a treasure trove for bibliophiles in the City who made the most of the sixth edition of ‘Pustaka Parishe’, the annual national book fair held at the National College Grounds in Basavanagudi.
The fair, organised by the City-based Shrushti Ventures, was visited by more than a lakh people. As many as 40 lakh books were donated to the fair by the public, with Deccan Herald being one of the contributors.
People from all walks of life, irrespective of age or profession, flocked to the fair, eagerly skimming stacks of books, looking for that one book which they could take home free of cost.
“A good book is one which will speak to you,” said Jnanapith award winner and Kannada writer U R Ananthamurty after inaugurating the fair.
‘Pustaka Dasoha’
“This is more like a ‘Pustaka Dasoha.’ The goal is to save literature and enhance one’s knowledge by reading. No book should be banned. If a book is bad, people would like to keep away from it naturally. There is no need for the government to interfere.”
The fair offered an eclectic collection of books. Not only could one find books of classic fiction in many languages, but also books on academics from various fields.
“I like reading books about freedom fighters. Recently, I read a book on Swami Vivekananda and I liked it. I hope to find more such books here,” said Mahalakshmi, a class VI student.
‘Commendable effort’
Rachita, another visitor, said: “I donated my son’s books here simply because I did not feel like throwing them away. It is a commendable effort by the organisers.”
Writer Sandhya Reddy said that with e-books and online reading becoming the trend, people do not realise the overwhelming feeling they get while holding a real book.
‘Inculcate reading habit’
According to Vijay Upendra of Shrushti Ventures, the idea behind organising such a fair is to inculcate reading habits among people.
“We are thankful to all the contributors and the visitors for making the fair such a grand event,” he added.
H N Ananth Kumar, Bangalore South Lok Sabha member, announced to donate Rs 25 lakh from his MP fund to the Kannada Sampanmoola Kendra, another project by Srishti Ventures to provide jobs.
Mayor B S Satyanarayana said he would provide an additional Rs 10 lakh from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for the purpose.
