Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will attend the inaugural session of the 21st North East Book Fair, to be organised by the All Assam Publishers and Book Sellers Association (AAPBSA) from November 1 to 12 at the Assam Engineering Institute playground.
This time, 75 publishers from Assam, New Delhi, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, Dehradun, Kolkata as well as Bangladesh will set up around 225 bookstalls. The list of participating publishers include prominent names like Penguin, Random House, McGraw Hill, Oxford University Press and the Hindu Group.
The AAPBSA will dedicate this year’s book fair in the memory of educationist and writer late Tabu Ram Taid, who passed away in August. Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University (KKHSOU) will also organise a tribute programme in the memory of the late scholar.
The organisers have dedicated the main stage in the memory of GL Agarwala and Benu Mishra, and the main auditorium in the memory of Dr Dilip Kumar Dutta. One day during the book fair will be observed as Women’s Day in the memory of Purobi Bormudoi and another day will be observed as Child’s Day in the memory of Manik Bora. Programmes for the elderly will also be held in the memory of Pramod Chandra Bhattacharya.
A special programme will also be held in the memory of Dr Bhupen Hazarika. Cultural nights will be organised in the memory of Purnabrata Dev Goswami and Chandra Choudhury.
The book fair aims to develop a book-reading environment in the state, for which the organiser will felicitate persons who buy Assamese books worth more than Rs 10,000. The organisers will also felicitate several personalities from different walks of life during the fair.
The 12-day book fair is packed with various programmes, including interactions with journalist Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, filmmaker Rima Das, singer-filmmaker Zubeen Garg and writer Durjoy Datta and Arupa Patangia Kalita.
More than 100 invited writers, journalists, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, historians, social workers and students will take part in varios programmes, including a poets’ meet which will be hosted by Assamese poet Nilim Kumar.
The National Book Trust and Sahitya Akademi will also organise a special programme on the North East.
Along Vice President Naidu, who will be present as the chief guest and inaugurator of the book fair, Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya, National Book Trust chairman Neera Jain, former MP Ramen Deka and writer Dr Dhruba Jyoti Bora will take part in the inaugural session.
