18th North East Book Fair inaugurated in Guwahati
The 18th north east book fair was inaugurated by the All Assam Publishers and Book Seller Association on 3rd of November 2016 at the Assam Engineering Institute Ground. The event was inaugurated by eminent laureate and author, Nirupama Borgohain. The glittering function was graced by other dignitaries like Ramen Deka, MP and, Rita Chowdhury, author and Chairperson of National Book Trust. Earlier, Chief Minister Mr Sarbabnanda Sonowal was scheduled to inaugurate the fair, but due to prior commitments, the lighting of the lamp ceremony was done by Mrs Borgohain. However, Borgohain termed the absence of chief as an ‘insult’ and cautioned the organizers against inviting politicians to future functions related to literature. In her speech, the NBT Chairman talked about the schemes adopted by the book trust in order to encourage more and more young writers to the field of literature. She also appealed the unpublished writers, primarily females and people below the age of 40 to approach the National Book Trust and publish their writings.
The fair is going to be a 12 day affair and the biggest book fair ever in north east India. The fair will see publication houses from round the region in around 40 stalls. While the book fairs in Kolkata and Delhi witness huge crowd, similar fairs in Guwahati are yet to attract such an attention. According to statistics, the book fair last year had to settle with only 29% crowd.
The Book fair is open from 9am to 11 am, with entry fee of just Rs. 10. Students with valid ID cards can enter for free. In a time when the city is attracting chunks of global population with numerous cultural festivals, the book fair adds on to the change significantly.