10 lakh books to be on display

10 lakh books to be on display

The Hindu

Bangalore Book Festival opens on Friday

# Fair to be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
# Entry fee fixed at Rs. 10
# M.S.S. Murthy to be felicitated on Friday
# Several programmes scheduled during the fair

Bangalore: With 270 stalls, 10 lakh books and the presence of leading international and national publishers, distributors and booksellers, the third Bangalore Book Festival, which opens on Friday, promises to be a treasure trove for book lovers.

Balaram Sadhwani, President, The Bangalore Booksellers and Publishers Association, who is organising the fair, said last year there were one lakh visitors and twice that number were expected this year during the festival which will be on till November 20.

The covered venue is Palace Grounds with entry from the Mehkri Circle underpass. It will be open on all days from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. with an entry fee of Rs. 10. "Schoolchildren coming in groups will pay no entry fee," Mr. Sadhwani said.

Governor T.N. Chaturvedi will inaugurate the event on Friday morning with Minister for Irrigation and Transport M.Mallikarjun Kharge as chief guest. Kannada poet Chandrasekhar Kambara preside over the function.

The association has given special attention to smaller Kannada publishers this year, realising they cannot afford normal stall rentals. They will be accommodated at a separate Kannada Mantapa where table space will be provided courtesy of the Kannada Books Authority.

The stalls themselves will have books from publishers in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Urdu besides the latest English publication. A number of cultural and competitive events have been arranged on most days. These will be at an audtiorium named after K.V. Subbanna.

On November 11, a senior bookseller, M.S.S. Murthy, will be felicitated followed by a music programme by the Prayoga Range troupe. On November 12, there will be a talk on "The media and reading habit" by Ravi Belagere of "Hai Bangalore" and Vishweshwar Bhat of "Vijaya Karnataka." November 13 will see a quiz conducted by N. Someshwar, quiz master of doordarshan's "That Antha Heli". The next day being Children's Day will have a talk for children on personality development, given by author and counsellor B.V. Pattabhiraman.