Manipur Information Centre
New Delhi, Feb 25: The Writers’ Forum Imphal, one of the leading literary organisations of Manipur represented Manipur in the biennial World Book Fair New Delhi, 2012 which was inaugurated today at Pragati Maidan here. More than 1000 books related to Manipur’s literature, arts and culture were displayed at Stall number 73 of Hall number 10. My Days in Tihar Jail , a collection of short stories based on true stories written by Dr Leimapokpam Swasticharan and published by Raider International UK recently, was among the books displayed in the Manipur Stall. As per invitation from the National Book Trust, the President of the Writers’ Forum Imphal A. Kumar Sharma, the General Secretary B. S. Rajkumar and the Executive Member Ranbir Sarungba attended the 20th edition of the World Book Fair which would last upto March 4. This was the first time that Manipur participated in the Delhi World Book Fair.
A.Kumar Sharma said that the National Book Trust provided the stall and their accommodation free of cost and other expenditure was born by the participants. He expressed his thankfulness to the Director of Arts and Culture for extending some financial helps for their participation in the Book Fair in the larger interest of the people of Manipur. Tripura, Assam and Manipur were the States from North Eastern India participating in the Book Fair.
Chingangbam Anupama who was doing research on Manipuri literature under the Indira Gandhi National Open University today bought all the books written by Yumlembam Ibomcha and Thangjam Ibopishak available in the Manipur Stall. She expressed his happiness to find a big stall for showcasing Manipuri books in the World Book Fair for the first time. She drew the attention of the authorities of Manipur to take part in such book fair regularly.
Inaugurating the 20th World Book Fair, Chief guest Kapil Sibal, Union Human Resource Development Minister said that India being the third largest publisher after US and UK was a pioneer in the field of literature and this kind of event should take place on annual basis to promote the Indian literature globally.
Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi, Chief Election Commissioner of India also visited the event and said that it is really great to see a blend of literature and cinema together as cinema is something that conveys the message directly to the heart of a person and it is really good to see a fusion of cinema and literature at the same place.
Organized by the National Book Trust (NBT), India every year, the theme of the World Book Fair 2012 is Indian Cinema as Indian cinema is going to complete its 100 years in 2013. A few books based on Indian cinema were also released on the occasion. Moreover, a catalogue including 300 titles representing publications of 800 publishers in all major languages based on Indian cinema has been released by NBT. The catalogue contained information about copyright and contact details for right enquires that would help the publishers around the world to get the information about the rights to publish or translate any of the books based on Indian Cinema.
The event was divided into three pavilions namely Rights Pavilion, Theme Pavilion and Children Pavilion showcasing a total number of 2500 stalls. Exhibitors from foreign countries like USA, Bangladesh, France, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Germany also participated in the book fair.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/writers-forum-displays-manipuri-books/
