‘Book reading not so out of fashion as we believe’

If you love to read, than visiting the country’s biggest book fair that kicked off on Thursday, is mandatory. Under way at the Karachi Expo Centre, the 13th Karachi International Book Fair saw a large number of students on just its first day.
Albeit officially opened for the public after the inaugural ceremony, presided over by the Sindh Minister for Information Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, a good number of visitors had already queued up outside the venue before the ceremony began.
Addressing the ceremony, Shah said that a better law and order situation facilitated all kinds of organisations to hold such purposeful events in the metropolis. He lauded the efforts of the country’s armed forces and the law enforcement agencies, and the sacrifices rendered by them to restore peace in Pakistan and making it a hub of economic growth.
Also among the speakers was renowned Indian writer, poet and critic, Satyapal Anand. Appreciating the KIBF, he said the event has conveyed the message that the book reading culture is alive and kicking. “A single book can never be read just once, the more times you read it, the more of its aspects are revealed to you.”
He said the book reading culture is still intact in developed and civilised nations, despite them having access to a plethora of internet facilities. Former information minister and writer Javed Jabbar said the book fair has played a vital role in bringing to fore the importance of book reading. Different sectors in our country lack the practice of conducting researches, Jabbar added as he urged the country’s youth to adopt the habit of studying.
However, he dismissed all the talk about there being a decline in reading habits, saying that the statistics contradict the notion. The former minister also cited an international research which revealed that the book printing industry has seen a boom owing to a rise in the reading culture.
Others who addressed the inaugural ceremony were renowned writers and journalists including Mehmood Sham, Qazi Asad Abid and Ovais Mirza Jameel, educationists Anwar Ahmedzai, Mansoob Hussain Siddiqui and renowned poet Sahar Ansari.
The exhibition comprises a total of 330 stalls, of not just local publishers but also of globally renowned publishing houses. The countries participating in the event include Iran, India, Turkey, Singapore, China, Malaysia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates among many others.
Many literary stalwarts and political personalities who attended the book fair were all praise for the organiser’s efforts in spreading the book reading culture across the city. Several of the visitors unanimously termed the effort a milestone that would add positively to the metropolis’s international image. The acclaimed intellectuals called for such activities to be encouraged so as to develop the habit of book reading in Pakistani students.
Special public attraction was seen at books stalls selling translated versions of popular books in languages as varied as Urdu, Sindhi, Persian, Punjabi as well as Gujrati. The Welcome Book Port and Children Publishers managed to whip up the curiosity of many a students and parents with its stock of curriculum and non-curriculum books.
According to KIBF officials, the event was being participated in by publishers along with featured exhibitors, including Yds Publishing Turkey, Alston Publishing House PTE Ltd, in Singapore, Scholastic Education International PTE Ltd, Royal Society of Chemistry UK, Cambridge University Press UK, Elsevier Health.