National 2 (Spotlight Weekly)

Knowledge On Display

The seventh National Book Fair provides enlightening opportunities to all kinds of visitors

By A CORRESPONDENT

From the young to the elderly and from students to teachers, there was a rush of visitors at the Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Hall, venue of the seventh Nepal Education and Book Fair. Organized by Global Exposition and Management Services Pvt. Ltd in cooperation with the National Booksellers and Publishers Association of Nepal, the book fair lured more than 100,000 residents of the valley.

At a time when the country is passing through political instability, many students and parents keen on the prospects of higher education abroad also got the opportunity to meet representatives of education institutions from neighboring countries as well as overseas.

A book stall : Gathering of knowledge-seekers

Participated by many renowned book stores as well as Indian publishing houses, the book fair sections had many attractions, with the collections ranging from brand-new books to old ones. Mandala Book Point, Himalayan Book Center, Tiwari's Pilgrim Book House, Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Bhrikuti Book, Nepal Sahitya Prakashan Kendra, Lotus Education Enterprises, Krishnamurthy Study Center, Nepal, Bazaar International, Educational Book House, EKTA Book Distributors, some of the largest book stores of Nepal, were in full attendance.

Nepal Bharat Sanskritik Kendra Library and the British Council also had stalls at the exhibition. Cambridge University Press, Sage Publication India, Orient Longman Ltd., India, Macmillan India Ltd, National Book Trust India, Rupa and Co, India, S. Chand and Co., too, had their own places.

"The exhibition helped Nepalese readers to see a variety of new publications of the domestic publishing houses and those from India," said Madhav Lal Maharjan. "We are offering all kinds of book at reduced prices."

Although the numbers of stalls were fewer than those of past exhibitions, visitors continued to increase. The education and career sections attracted a large number of youths from the valley who also visited the book stalls. "The sales were very low comparative to previous years and number of customers was fewer," said Shiva Shrestha, owners of Himalayan Book. "This seems to be more ritual rather than a fair."

Nevertheless, the fact that the fair was organized on schedule is itself a major achievement. "I can buy products from different kinds of publishing house - ranging from Sajha Prakashan to renowned international firms - in one place. This is what I like about the book fair," said Gopi Sharma, a teacher. "In many cases, we find some rare books in such fairs."

Some book distributors complained that they were not permitted to give discounts on some books, which they said made participation meaningless. "We were threatened by some bookstores to limit our discounts," said a representative of one participating store.

Book distributors and book lovers find an opportune time to gather in a same venue to meet together, which is one of the major achievements of the initiative.