By Suresh Nautiyal
New Delhi: The three-day Pantnagar Book Fair, twelfth in the series, will take place at the GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology premises from 8 to 10 November this year bringing together the book lovers, academics, intellectuals and others from several parts of the country.
This time, the Creative Uttarakhand, which has spread the Kitab Kautik/Kauthig movement in the state of Uttarakhand, will hold the three-day book fair in collaboration with the Pantnagar-based General Bipin Rawat Research School on Hill Development.
Hem Pant and Dayal Pandey of the Creative Uttarakhand told this correspondent in New Delhi that more than 80,000 books on various subjects would be displayed by the distributors this time in the book fair.
The participants will also have the opportunity to be part of the literary discussions, nature walks, bird watching, etc. The fair has planned to organise interactive sessions with the prominent writers and authors which will be a significant contribution to the literary field. Astronomy session, star gazing, science and handicrafts activities, experts’ talks with the students, poetry sessions, and cultural evenings will be the added flavours to the book fair.
“We are determined to enhance and emphasise the significance of the reading and writing culture in the state of Uttarakhand or elsewhere, and across all age demographics,” pointed out the duo — Hem Pant and Dayal Pandey.
Undoubtedly, the literary and scholastic book fairs carry on the tradition of the longevity of the books that serves to promote the habit of reading in people by offering them a wide selection of books. These fairs also give an opportunity to read by choice and not by compulsion. The book fairs are essentially spaces for the promotion of reading and learning of biblio-diversity.
The Creative Uttarakhand’s book fair initiative, which was held first at Tanakpur on 24 and 25 December 2022, has been providing access to thousands of books that are hard to be found or are out of print. The initiative is also offering a wide selection of books from different publishers and genres, besides bringing the readers closer to authors, writers and novelists, who share their writing experiences and participate in discussions.
Apart from all this, the initiative motivates children to read a variety of books. The effort helps the children to develop a love for reading as well.
So far, eleven editions of the Kitab Kauthig or Book Fair have taken place in several places of the Uttarakhand state. The first ever book fair, the Tanakpur Book Fair, as mentioned before, was organised on 24 and 25 December 2022 followed by the Baijnath Book Fair on 15 and 16 April 2023. The Champawat Book Fair, third one, took place on 20 and 21 May 2023. The next, i.e. the three-day fourth event, Pithoragarh Book Fair, was organised on 4, 5 and 6 July 2023. The fifth fair, Dwarahat Book Fair, was organised on 1, 2 and 3 September 2023 in association with the Bipin Tripathi Ekata Manch. The sixth Bhimtal Book Fair was organised on 5, 6 and 7 October 2023 followed by the seventh Nanakmatta Book Fair on 1, 2 and 3 December 2023.
The Haldwani Book Fair, eighth in a row, was organised on 16 and 17 March 2024. Originally, it was proposed to be held in February 2024 but due to the law-and-order issues there, it was postponed. The next Ranikhet Book Fair, ninth in fact, was held on 10, 11, and 12 March 2024. The Creative Uttarakhand – Myor Pahar organised it in association with the Ranikhet Sanskritik Samiti and Cantonment Council. More than 50 thousand books were displayed in the fair.
The tenth edition of the book fair, the Tehri Book Fair, took place in New Tehri on 20 and 21 July 2024. The first edition in the Garhwal Division of the state was held at the Nagar Palika Parishad (Municipality Council) auditorium at Baurari.
The 11th edition of the book fair was organised in Dwarahat from 30 August till 1 September this year
In fact, the Kitab Kauthig initiative has already evolved as a book movement in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand; now, the organisers hope to spread it to the other parts of the country.
In a nutshell, all the above-mentioned book fairs have benefitted students, educators, activists, researchers, and the community alike. These fairs have also given ideas regarding expanding the libraries from schools to homes. The book fairs have given the parents and kids ample opportunities to pick out and read books together. The Kitab Kauthig initiative has also exposed the students to different cultures and connected them with their favourite authors.
