Pick up the Tamil translation of Gabriel Marcia Marquez’s classic Love in the time of Cholera or Salman Rushdie’s Victory City and participate in an engaging discussion on a modern poet’s commentary on Avvaiya’r poems and more at the eighth edition of Coimbatore Book Festival. Presented by the district administration and Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries’ Association (CODISSIA), the 10-day event brings publishers from across the country to showcase lakhs of titles across a variety of genres.
“For publishers and authors, it’s a great opportunity to interact with readers and understand their expectations,” says Kannan Sundaram, editor and managing director of Nagercoil-based Kalachuvadu Publications, who recently won the Chevalier Award from the French government for his contribution to the publishing collaboration between India and France. “It’s a recognition for our friendship with the French publishing industry and translating French books in Tamil and promoting Tamil books in France,” says Kannan adding that the book fair is a vibrant platform that ignites minds. “It has the potential to become an international book fair,” he adds.
While last year, the fair made a turnover of over two crores, it is expected to draw more crowds this year. “I appeal to everyone to come out in big numbers and expose yourself and your children to the wonderful world of books,” says District Collector Kranti Kumar Pati IAS. “The festival engages with every member of society across age groups. It encourages authors, bookstores besides giving a platform to showcase local talent. There are no good books or bad books. Any book that you pick up will help improve your knowledge. And, one can start at any age,” he adds.
A great way to update your bookshelves | Photo Credit: PERIASAMY M
The book donation initiative at the fair witnessed an overwhelming response last year. “We got as many as 2000 used books which went to prison inmates. This year too we want to encourage people to donate and the books will reach students of government hostels, minority welfare hostels, to name a few,” adds Kranti.
Ramesh Krishnan, chairman of the festival hopes to introduce children to the joys of reading. “As an industry body, we hold several machinery exhibitions, but being associated with an event like this along with the Tamil Nadu Government is heartening as it’s a great way to encourage the reading habit. We hope students touch and feel the books, and take to reading. They become creative, patient, stay focussed, and goal-driven,” says Ramesh.
Besides discounts and offers for young readers, the event also gives away awards like ‘Vaazhnaal Sadanaiyaalar’ to veteran writers as well as honours young, upcoming writers. “Music director James Vasanthan and his troupe will present a show highlighting traditional music instruments; there is also a discussion on Kavignar Kannadasan’s work,” adds Ramesh. There will be sessions with literary personalities like Nanjil Nadan, B Jeyamohan, and S Ramakrishnan, a special stage for new book releases, and events like kaviarangam.
City Commissioner V Balakrishnan who launched his first book Travel Tales of a Cop at the festival last year, says he looks forward to the festival. “For a fast growing city like Coimbatore, inculcating reading introduces people to quality entertainment. By poring over books, one becomes more aware and this helps improve one’s personality. You can buy book on unlimited subjects, learn about trends in publishing, and get introduced to new authors with publishers coming from all over the country. This year, there are more stalls,” he says adding that the increase in number of visitors encouraging as it proves that the reading habit is still alive.
From July 19 to 28 at the CODISSIA complex, B hall from 11am to 8pm. Entry is free and is open to all.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
