THURSDAY, 12 JANUARY 2017

‘Is women’s writing a separate entity?’ — posed Dr

Pratibha Ray, eminent Odia writer and Jnanpith awardee, setting the tone for the Theme presentation, in her address at the inauguration of the New Delhi World Book Fair. Has women’s writings made the space it requires in, as Dr Ray pointed out, or is writings, whatever the genre, is it part of male dominion. Women’s writings are a separate entity in as much as all writers are different from each other.

Manushi, the Theme Programme at the Fair, gives us a peep into some of the finest writings on and by women. Women’s scholarship has a long, rich and diverse tradition characterised by philosophical discourses, poetry, novels, short stories, non-fiction that includes scholarly works across disciplines and gender discourses, crime thrillers, popular science,

Manushi: The Theme Pavilionscience fiction, self-help books, detective fiction and children’s books. From Gargi, the natural philosopher and one of the renowned exponder of Vedas, who challenged the great sage Yajnavalkya in a debate, to Auvaiyar, the Tamil poet of the Sangam period, Andal, Akka Mahadevi, Sant Janabai, Gangasadi, Lal Ded, Meerabai, Atukuri Molla, Gul-Badan Begum, Chandrabati and Bahinabai; and in modern times Kurratul-ain Haider, Ashapoorna Devi, Amrita Pritam, Nalini Baladevi, Balamani Ammal, Mamoni

Raisom Goswami, Anita Desai, Pratibha Ray have all left an indelible mark on the literary and cultural heritage of India.

The aesthetically designed Theme Pavilion with its

emphasis on creating new spaces concomitant with the emerging new voices, showcases over 600 books across genres and major Indian languages including English. At best, a representative

collection, yet the exhibition brings together the earliest recipients of Sahitya Akademi awards, Jnanpith awardees, Sahitya Akademi Fellows and other awarded writers. Together they present an

impressive reflect of works, images and expressions.

Besides portraits of some of the pioneering women writers, the Pavilion also houses portraits of women scholars of ancient and medieval India, especially done for the Theme programme by select students of Fine Arts faculty from six major art colleges of India. Also, there are informative panels depicting some of the works of pioneering women writers in the exhibition.

During the Fair, the Theme Pavilion hosts a series of programmes concerning women’s writings, including discussions, interactions with women writers, and select dance and musical performances based on writings by women.

2THURSDAY, 12 JANUARY 2017

NBT, India organized a discussion on ‘Women

Consciousness/Sensibilities in Hindi Literature’ at the Theme Pavilion. The discussants on the occasion were Dr Avanijesh Awasthi, Dr Shashiprabha Tiwari and Dr Krishna Sharma.

@ Theme Pavilion

Dr Shashiprabha said that only a woman can understand the pain or suffering of a woman, that is why great women authors like Mahasweta Devi, Mamta Kalia, Padma Sachdeva have portrayed the feelings of women characters very

poignantly in their works. She also added that modern women writers have been contributing a lot in the field of literature as they have successfully provided the true picture of the society.

However, Dr Awasthi argued that the classic novels like Saket and Yashodhara have been written by male writers and they have vividly captured the feelings of women. He added that only through the novel Saket, written by Maithilisharan Gupt, people could understand the sufferings of the largely unknown character Urmila in the epic Ramayana. He said that a true author is one who can identify the feelings of a character as his own without keeping in mind the gender of a character.

Dr Krishna Kumar brought to light another fact about women writings. She said that if there were no sufferings in the lives of women then why was there a need to highlight the condition of women in the literature.

Earlier, at the Meet the Author session Smt Sukhwinder Kaur and Smt Chandan Negi, participated and read from their works. The event was organised by Punjabi Academy, Delhi. A dance performance on Meerabai by Meenu Thakur & troupe was also held.

Originally titled “The Last Beloved”, the book was

finally named ‘Dangerous Dispatches’ which was published by NBT India. Authored by Achala Moulik, former Indian Administrative Service Officer and Secretary of MHRD, the book is based on factual events narrated through fictional characters. A discussion about the book took place at the Authors’ Corner, Hall No. 18.

Fascinated by journalism the author started penning down her past experiences which according to her also has contemporary relevance. Writing a novel is sometimes about little events in life and joining the dots together. The author met an Afghan lady from whom she heard the tragic and brutal story of the happenings in Afghanistan. This story is weaved into the novel through the life of an Afghan lady in the novel.

The panelists were Ranjit Gupta, IFS (Rt.) Ambassador in West Asian countries,

Dangerous DispatchesMrs. Chandni Luthra Former Vice president ITDC and Mr. Manish Purohit, Authors Upfront. Mr. Ranjit Gupta said that the book engages the reader to such an extent that the characters can be visualized as real. Narrating few incidents from the book, the author said that if this novel was made into a movie then it would be of Wuthering Heights kind of genre. Feelings of love projected in the novel are also interwoven exceedingly and skillfully, he added. Mrs Chandni commented that it is 307 pages worth of reading. But she is not sure whether it should be called a novel because the story is not altogether a fiction. Manish said that it is a conglomeration of fascinating aspects. It has lot of facts but facts that had been carried forward in the form of characters which is nicely classified into seasons and interesting characters. He commented that the world had changed and at the same

time not changed especially in the case of Afghanistan.

The novel revolves around a brilliant intrepid Indian frontline journalist, Shivan Khamboj, and Romona, his wife, inspiration and archaeologist; the idealistic Russian journalist Alexei Rumyanstev and his wife Ludmila; the visionary Afghan Prince Farid and his wife Anahita; the English writer Julian Ashford and his lost beloved Vinita.

Their lives are set against conflicts in contested lands -  Afghanistan, Middle East, Iran, Bosnia - of the late 20th century. Through the eyes of these four men the reader sees the tragedy of

Palestine, the resultant Arab-Israeli hostilities, the ethno-national feuds in Bosnia, the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the fundamentalist threat that impels Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, and finally the rise of Mujahidin, Taliban, and the Islamic State that threatens destruction of civilization.

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”

— Jorge Luis Borges“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”

— Haruki Murakami

3THURSDAY, 12 JANUARY 2017

Children’s Pavilion presents a world of magic and

mysteries which continues to draw large crowds of children and adults alike. Ms Syeda Hameed and Ms Kamla Bhasin, both well-known writers, unveiled the ‘Bharat Mata Ka Paanch Roop’ originally written by Khwaja Ahmed Abbas to the children. ‘Is she a beautiful goddess bedecked with jewels, her hair spread across the map of India? Or is she an ordinary woman raised from the soil of our land imbued with a deep humanity speaking the language of love?’ Children were acquainted with real Bharat Mata in this interactive session organized by Pratham Books.

Reputed illustrator of children’s books Shri Atanu Roy engaged the children in

@ Children’s Pavilion

an illustration workshop on a ‘A Brush with Creativity’. Children were asked to draw a monster and they came with really frightening drawings of monsters. Children of all age groups in large numbers participated in the workshop.

A Quiz Competition was organized by National Monuments Authority under Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India. Children were asked simple questions like: The biggest discovery of early man, Ancient name of Delhi, Who wrote Panchatantra etc. The children who gave right answers were awarded on

the spot. Dr Manoj Kumar, Consultant Architecture, National Monuments Authority, was the quiz master.

The students of Nidhi Public School, Faridabad, enacted a play ‘Let’s Know our Solar System’. The children wove the story around facts and introduced each planet with their special characteristics with the message to save the earth and its environment for our

own existence. The children pledged that they will work toward saving the earth from destruction. The play was performed under the direction of Shri Arun Kumar.

‘World of Stories’ was an interactive storytelling session conducted by Ms Payal Chaudhary a popular storyteller. She narrated the story of how the Ganga came to earth and the important role it plays in our everyday life.

Presentations on publishing culture and book markets of Germany, France and India was organised at the

International Events Corner, at Hall No. 7. Moderated by Rastogi, Director, German Book Office and Nicolas Idier, Attache, Institut français, India, the panel included Claudia Kaiser, Vice-President, Frankfurt Book Fair; Mr. Jean-Guy Boin, Director, Bureau International de l’édition française; and Jean-Francois Richez (Larousse), Etienne Bonnin (Glenat), So Taniuchi (Bayard), Kate Mascaro (Flammarion).

The Indian publishing scenario was presented by Sridhar Aghalaya (Kadalu), Aditi Maheshwari (Vani Prakashan) and Preeti Gill. Among other issues the presentations not only gave an insight into the current status and book market of these countries, but also underlined the importance of establishing a network of publishers across France, Germany and India to enable a strong working relationship. The programme was organised by Globalocal, a forum set up by the joint efforts of German Book Office and Institut français, India.

GlobaLocal Mann Ki Baat“Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks to the people

through his ‘Mann ki Baat’ which is available online so that anyone can access and hear it whenever one wants to. But, bringing together these talks as collected volume in a printed book format is an excellent idea and Shri Rajiv Gupta has done that job,” said Shri Jual Oram, Hon’ble Minister for Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India. He was speaking on the occasion of the release of the book Pradhan Mantri ke Man ki Baat at a function held at Hall No. 18.

“People who heard it on radio might forget what they heard, but this book makes it a documentation of the speeches and people can recollect again,” said Shri Baldeo Bhai Sharma, Chairman, NBT India. Shri Laloo Singh and Manoj Tiwari, Members of Parliament, also spoke on the occasion.

4International Events : Hall No. 7ABC

Programme Venue / OrganiserNew Homelands: The Indian Diaspora in the European Union — An Exhibition of Photographs (Kounteya Sinha, Paroma Mukherjee and Shome Basu)

European Union

Happy Chienese New Year: A Photography Exhibition Republic of China

Manushi: Writing on and by Women at Theme Pavilion, Hall No. 7ETime Event

11.00 to 1.00 pm Odissi dance based on Dr. Pratibha Ray’s English translation of Odia novel Silapadma by Ms. Jaya Mehta and Ms. Swaati Chattopadhyay

2.30 to 4.00 pm ‘Naari-Chetna’ Discussion in Hindi Participants: Dr. Chandrakanta (in Chair), Dr. Sharad Singh, Ms. Pankhuri Sinha, Dr. Alka Sinha, Dr. Mridula ShuklaOrganised by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi

Author’s Corner : Reflections, Hall No. 10-11Time Author Organiser

1:00 to 2:30 pmMahesh Gopalan (A discussion on “the East India Company, 1600–1857 Essays on Anglo-Indian connection”)

Routledge

3:00 to 4:30 pm Suresh Mohan Semwal (Discussion on “Best Management Quotes”) Prabhat Books

5:00 to 6:30 pmGautam Mahajan (Discussion on “Value Creation: The Definitive Guide for Business Leaders”)

SAGE Publications

Author’s Corner : Conversations, Hall No. 18Time Author Organiser

11:00 to 12:30 pm An event organized by Publications Division Publication Division

1:00 to 2:30 pm Badri Narayan (Discussion on “Contemporary Dalit Politics”) Oxford University Press

3:00 to 4:30 pm Mridula Koshy (Discussion on the book “Bicycle Dreaming”) Speaking Tiger Publishing

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Events TodayTHURSDAY, 12 JANUARY 2017

5Events TodayChildren’s Pavilion : Hall No. 14

Time Event Presented by11:00am – 1:00pm Stories from Land and Sea NBT

Aao Leekhe Ek Kahani Hare Krishna Devsare Bal Sahitya Nyas

Fun with Typography Happy Horizon Trust

Tribal Paintings Janjatiya Shodh Evam Vikas Sansthan

Sufi Music Delhi Society for Welfare of Special Children

1:30pm – 2:30pm Symposium on Relevance of School Education in Modern Times Lekhika Sangh

Seminars & Discussions: Hall No. 18Time Event Organiser

11.30am to 1.00pm Panel Discussion on Language Learning Macmillan Education India, Gurgaon

4.00pm to 5.30pm Paricharcha: Muktibodh ka Rahasyalok Bharatiya Jnanapith, New Delhi

6.00pm to 7.30pm Interactive Lecture on ‘Healing with Words’ Consilium Good Counsel Books, Bangalore

Sanskriti Utsav: Hamsadhwani TheatreTime Event/ Presented by

6.00 pm Music and Dance presentation by Song and Drama Division on themes like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao etc

THURSDAY, 12 JANUARY 2017

Hall No. 8-11 Stall Nos. 458 to 482 : English Publications Hall No. 12-12A Stall Nos. 45 to 68 : Language PublicationsHall No. 14 Stall Nos. 207 to 234 : Children’s Publications

Visit NBT Stalls at :

6THURSDAY, 12 JANUARY 2017

Revolution of 1857: The Unknown Aspects

The Revolution of 1857 was a major event in the

history of India. Though the heroes of the revolution fought bravely against the foreign rulers, they could not achieve success in regaining their dominance. National Book Trust, India in association with Itihaas Sankalan Samiti, organized a discussion on the ‘Unknown Aspects of Revolution of 1857’ at Sahitya Manch (Hall No. 8). The speakers on the occasion included Shri Surendra Hans,

Dr Yutika Mishra, Prof. Venus Jain and Dr Jagbir. The speakers were of the view that the revolution of 1857 was a landmark event in the history of India but it was mentioned as a small revolt restricted to northern India only.

Need for Inclusive Publishing

A seminar discussing the ‘Need for Inclusive

Publishing’ was organized by Cygnet Infotech Pvt.Ltd, Ahmedabad. The seminar focussed on the need for inclusive media for all kinds of consumers- the visually challenged and others who may not be able to read and write easily as most people. Also the literate as well as children and adults who may be able to read English but might miss out the literature

of their own languages due to various reasons. The main focus of the seminar was on the need of the visually impaired community underlining the importance of literary aids like text to voice conversion apps which may be used to scan texts and be converted to audio for use.

Apurva Ashar (epuhub) at Navjeevan Trust has converted many texts into digital format and audio so that it may be used as required. The availability of any text in the digital format in Unicode font and a dedicated style for the text and headings make it easier for conversion to Braille and other mediums. OCR is also another tool that may be used by users to convert images of pages into written texts.

On the occasion of World Hindi Day on 10 January

2017, a discussion on ‘Hindi as a National Language’ was

organized by the Diamond Pocket Books at Lekhak Manch (Hall 12 -12 A). The speakers felt that Hindi should not only be treated as the official language of India but also as national language of India.

In a conversation, Shri Omair Ahmad and Ms Swapna

Liddle discussed their books ‘The Story Tellers Tale’ and ‘Chandni Chowk’ respectively. They brought alive the glorious era of Sahajanabad and drew a parallel with the present time. Through their conversations the charm and heritage of old Delhi made an impressive impression. The book was published Speaking Tiger.

Across the Fair

7

Published by Dr Rita Chowdhury, Director, National Book Trust, India, Nehru Bhawan, 5 Institutional Area, Phase-II, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi - 110 070 and printed at Amar Ujala Publications Ltd., Noida

Editorial Team : Binny Kurian, Surekha Sachdeva, Arenkala, Barnali and S.S. Bhattacharya Layout & Design : R. Shahjahan & Jahan Ara S, Production : G. Rengarajan

The views expressed in the signed articles do not necessarily reflect the

official views of the NBT.

THURSDAY, 12 JANUARY 2017

Film maker and writer Kaizad Gustad discussed his new book 7 Storeys at Author’s Corner hosted by Om Book

International. The book is narrated as the thoughts running though the protagonist’s mind after jumping from the 7th floor of a building and each chapter is about a storey of the building he is falling through and the people that live in it. The protagonist, an ordinary guy in an urban city suddenly gets a messianic power to speak in tongues and is suddenly identified by the people around him as a divine power and he does not want any of it. The protagonist rebels against the idea of established God, the need to seek answers from a higher being and the pretense of believing in things that seems to be holy. The whole book is a metaphor. In one of the stories about a filthy city beach that is impossible to clean even after numerous attempts, he projects the human nature of how we have become anaesthesized by what we see that we do not care about things anymore. The book is an intriguing read, an urban tale woven together by magic realism.

The children’s literature in Indian languages is rich in content. The characters, the stories, the humour in the

Indian literature not only amuse children but also help them develop their imagination. To discuss the various important aspects of children’s literature in Indian languages, a conversation ‘ Story behind a Story’ with well-known children’s writer, Bharathi Jagganathan was held at the Author’s Corner in Hall 18. The other speakers on the occasion included Tultul Biswas and Vasanta Surya. Bharathi said that our languages are our wealth so she urged the children and youth to read books in Indian languages as well. During the session, the books Mridu in Madras and Aalai Goes Flying were also released. The programme was organized by Eklavya.

A discussion on‘Love in the times of Online Dating’ was organized by Om Books International with the authors

Madhavi Ahuja and Kiren Rao talking about their new book ‘Cupidity, Ping me Love’. The book is about the phenomena of online dating and stories of people who find love and the liberty to transgress through relationships and identities through the liberating anonymity provided by the interface. The authors discusses that the main reason which drives people to go online dating is loneliness and boredom who look for company in a

@ Authors’ Corners

non-threatening, non-judgemental virtual environment which is strange in a way because the main motive is about human connect. The book was researched through the chat-rooms of the online dating website OK, Cupid and both authors assumed fictional roles to do the research. The book also sheds light on transgressions of relationships and LGBTQ relationship and dating profiles which according to them were some of the most interesting stories about people whose love situation is illegal in our country.

A discussion on the life and times of Imam Husain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed. Imam Husain’s life is a message of

humble but strong resistance to oppression, as well as humanity,

peace and brotherhood. The discussion also brought out what Islam really represents and not the violence and terrorism that it has been identified with. On the occasion, a book on his life and times was also released.

Medical Facilities at the FairISIC - Saroj  Cardiac Sciences has joined hands with National Book Trust to take care of  public in any kind of medical emergency during the book fair. An ACLS ambulance is  also  stationed near Hall No. 8. Apart from taking care of all the emergency medical needs at the book fair, ISIC - Saroj Cardiac  Sciences also organizes many fun games and on-the spot quiz to make participants well aware about health, hygiene and general awareness.