On the seventh day of the Delhi Book Fair, The Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) held the 34th Annual Awards for excellence in Book Production for the year 2014. The President of FIP, Dr. Ashok Gupta was present at the event along with General Secretary Mr. Ramesh K. Mittal and Treasurer Shree R.C. Govil. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) was the honorary Chief Guest of the evening. Over 1100 entries were received from 78 publishers. Out of those, 89 titles were selected from 45 publications. There were 13 categories in the ceremony that included the Indian languages. 27 publishers received the first position prize, 35 publishers received the second prize and 28 received the certificates of merit.
The Delhi Book Fair is not limited to finding good reads. It is also the destination if one wishes to enlighten their spiritual side. International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON), Ramakrishna Mission and Urdu Academy, Delhi are such organizations which are spreading spiritual knowledge through various teachings and books. IRH Press India Company Private Limited have introduced the writings of international Spiritual Leader, Mr. Ryuho Okawa. He has published 1600 books that have been translated in 27 different languages. He also holds the Guinness World Record for publishing 52 books in one year. His books “Heal Yourself”, “Change Your Life, Change the World”, “Laws of Success” and “Invincible Thinking” are doing fairly well.
The Geeta Press is one of the most crowded and popular stalls. They have been the leading publishers and distributors of religious books of the Hindu religion. The Geeta Press have been known for their original, cost efficient books that are always presented in the best of quality. They have a large archive consisting of 3500 manuscripts and over a 100 interpretations of the Geeta. These texts are published in Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Odiya and other Indian languages. A perse sight at the Geeta Press was the small suggestion box that was open to collect the general public’s suggestions. Shri Ramcharit Manas, the Geeta and the Quran are the highest selling books.
The National Book Trust (NBT) organized a workshop today that was attended by over 150 school students. The theme “Let’s review books and interact with an illustrator” resulted in a very interesting workshop. The students were taught how to review a book by Mrs. Nandini Sahu, writer and professor of I.G.N.O.U. The students were also told to try reviewing a book on the spot that was provided by the National Centre for Children’s Literature (NCCL). Mr. Subir Roy, Art Executive of Children’s Book Trust conducted an interactive discussion on making a book cover. The children were keen on learning and enjoyed the workshop. The event was coordinated by Mr. Manas Ranjan Mahapatra, Editor of NCCL. The Federation of Indian Publishers are organizing an “On the Spot Drawing Competition” tomorrow, 30th August 2014 at 11am. The competition will be held in Hall number 10 in front of the V.I.P Hall. The age groups for participation are 5 to 10 years and 11 to 16 years. Children are invited with their parents/guardians to take part in the event. The entry is restricted to the first 400 participants. Interested students are advised to reach the venue on time to get registered.
Tomorrow’s highlights include:
~On The Spot Painting Competition for Children aging 5-10years and 11-16years organized by The Federation of Indian Publishers.
~Book Release Function by Vision Books.
~Organization of a panel discussion, followed by Kavi Sammelan organized by Authors Guild of India.
~Workshop on “Creative Writing/Debate Activity for University Students under the banner of The Young Expression” organized by Lekhika Sangh.
~Celebration of famous bollywood lyricist, poet and writer- Mr. Shailendra’s birthday by Gautam Book Centre.
~Programme on “Sham-e-Ghazal” (an evening of Ghazal and Geet) organized by The Indian Society of Authors.