Vidhana Soudha book fair attracts huge crowds

Bengaluru: Thousands of book lovers streamed into the Vidhana Soudha on Friday, the second day of the book fair organised by the Karnataka legislative assembly.

The crowds, with many coming in from the districts, swelled by evening. Kannada literature holds pride of place at the fair, and many genres were represented at the 150 stalls along the driveway around the secretariat.

Well-known publishers from across Karnataka have put up stalls at the fair, inaugurated on Thursday. Sahitya Bhandra, Ankita Pustaka, Navakarnataka, Gauri Lankesh Patrike, Bhavana Prakashana, Abhinava and Akriti are among the Bengaluru publishers who have displayed their books. Universities and media houses are also participating in the fair.

“It is heartening that government employees from the Vidhana Soudha are visiting the stalls and getting acquainted with Kannada literature. And despite the heat, book lovers are coming from outside in big numbers,” said Na Ravikumar, who runs Abhinava, a publishing house that recently reached the 1,000-book mark. He has noticed an interest not just in popular books but also scholarly works.

Book lovers and writers interviewed by the media welcomed the decision of U T Khadar, Assembly speaker, to throw open the gates of the Vidhana Soudha for the cause of literature, and said it was gratifying that the book fair would be an annual affair.

The book fair was inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday. It is on till Monday, March 3.

Bags not allowed

Towards the late afternoon, the police began stopping people with backpacks and barred their entry. Many book lovers left disappointed that they couldn’t enter the fair. With no baggage arrangements or cloakroom near the gate, some groups designated one of their own to keep an eye on their bags and backpacks, which they lined up on the footpaths.