The ‘Return’ of the Mumbai Book Fair

The recent edition of the Mumbai Book Fair organised by the National Book Trust, India was held at the Bandra-Kurla Complex from Nov 29 – Dec 03, 2013. The fair was inaugurated by Chandra Namade, eminent Marathi writer in presence of A Sethumadhavan (chairman, NBT), MA Sikandar (director, NBT), and other eminent dignitaries. During the inauguration, A Sethumadhavan said, “Televisions or lavish showcase in our homes don’t make us cultured, whereas a small book shelf makes us so. So let us start inculcating reading habit not only in ourselves but in our children too.”

This fair was held after a long hiatus of 12 years and witnessed a good gathering of authors, litterateurs and book lovers. Promising to make it an annual event Sikandar said, “It is a big city and Mumbaikars are avid readers. We now wish to come to Mumbai every year.”

More than 100 English and vernacular languages’ publishers from all over India set up nearly 140 stalls in the five-day fair. Books of different genres and languages were available at the book fair and visitors were seen exploring books in English, Marathi, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and several other regional languages.