Jamshedpur, Nov. 18: The ten-day annual Jamshedpur Book Fair will begin at Rabindra Bhawan premises in Sakchi from November 20. About 70 publishers from Kolkata, Delhi, Patna, Mumbai and other parts of the country will display their publications at the 31 st edition of the fair, said Ashis Chowdhury, general secretary of the Tagore Society.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Chowdhury said, the fair will be inaugurated by chief guest Prof. Ajoy Kumar Ray, Director, NEST, Sibpur, and. Ranjan Bandyopadhyay, an eminent writer from Kolkata, will be the guest of honour on the occasion.
�Like every year, this year also they will be bringing books of all types for the general readers, the students, teaching community and for the professionals. Many individuals, school libraries and libraries associated with cultural institutions lend their support to this fair by buying books from it.�
�The purchase of books is more important and necessary today. The impact of T.V. and electronic media is very short lived as it attracts a large number of people for a very short time and whose aim is to engage the attention of the viewers and entertain them, rather than making them more knowledgeable and educated in respect of their special interest,� noted H.S Paul, a functionary of Tagore Society.
Over the years, the Jamshedpur Book Fair has become a popular annual event and attracted thousands from in and around the steel city. It offers an opportunity to browse through and buy one�s desired books in a literary environment.
As in the previous years, this year also we have requested corporate house like Tata Steel to purchase books in a bulk from the fair and we hope a positive response from them, Chowdhury said, adding, that parents, guardians and all those who are literate, should buy more books for their own use as well as for the use of their children. Money spent on books give a much longer and beneficial return to the people compared to many other things on which people spend their money.
This year, the entry fee will be Rs. 5 (adult) and Rs. 2 for school students.
Another official of the society informed that 51 thousand people visited the book fair in 2014 and we hope that the footfall increases this year as there are no festivals during the 10-day affair. He further said that total business of 92 lakh was done during the last year and we hope that the business worth over a crore is done in 2015. The organizers have also issued a notification to the publishers to offer 10 percent discount to the buyers.
