In a first, book fair inaugurated in Ooty summer festival

UDHAGAMANDALAM: In a first, as part of the ongoing summer festival in Ooty, a book fair was inaugurated by Nilgiris collector J Innocent Divya at Resource Centre for Tribal Culture (RCTC) on Saturday.With about 19 stalls, the book fair features around 50,000 books. Books belonging to various genres such as novels, biography, politics and religion have been displayed at the fair.Book sellers and publishers from Chennai, Bangalore and other parts of south India are participating in the fair. “This is the first time that a book fair has been included in Ooty’s summer festival. Besides tourist activities, these kinds of shows are rare in Ooty,” said L Kannan, a resident of Ooty.“For an exploring tourist like me, fairs like this will add value to the trip,” S Parthiban, a tourist from Trichy said. “Events like this will make this town a happening place for visitors,” M Saravanan, a resident said, adding that the book fair will greatly help students. Ravi Varma, from Book World, Bangalore said, “It is the first time we are taking part in a book fair in Ooty that too during its summer festival. The response from the tourists and locals are encouraging.”The fair is on till May 27.