10-day annual book fair kicks off in Jamshedpur

JAMSHEDPUR: The 36th edition of the Jamshedpur Book Fair began on the lawns of the Rabindra Bhawan at Sakchi here on Friday. The 10-day annual fair will witness the participation of 67 reputed publishers from across the country, the organisers said.

Ashish Chowdhary, the general secretary of the Tagore Society, which is organising the fair since 1985, said, "Books in English, Hindi, Urdu and regional languages are available at the fair. Moreover, books of all streams including science, medicine, technology, poetry, short stories, autobiography, sports, cuisines, yoga, films and entertainment among others will also be available."

Chowdhury also said Rs 2 tickets have been introduced this year to draw school students to the book fair. "Today's children are hooked to the internet and their mobile phones. We want them to come to the fair and fall in love with books," he said.

The organisers said they are expecting bulk purchases from schools, colleges, coaching institutes, playschools and corporate houses this year.

"Due to the Covid curbs, we did not organise the fair in 2020 and 2021," Chowdhury said. In pre-Covid 19 times, over 30,000 people visited the fair and books worth Rs 80 lakh were sold each year.