Book fair at Gandhi Maidan from November 8 in Patna

PATNA: Book lovers have all the reasons to be happy as the 11-day Patna Book Fair will kick-start at Gandhi Maidan on November 8. The theme of this year’s book fair is ‘Tree-water-life’.
There will be total 780 bookstalls on various genres as over 300 publishers are likely to participate in the fair being organized by Centre for Readership Development (CRD). It will remain open from 11am till 8pm.The organizers will charge Rs10 for each entry ticket.
“However, schoolchildren in uniform and having identity cards will not be charged. Similarly, those studying in government colleges will be allowed free entry with their ID card every day, except Sunday,” said fair spokesperson Kumar Pankajesh.
There will also be various cultural programmes. Essay, painting, debate and speech competitions will also be held for schoolchildren besides a storytelling session for the kids by Amitabh Pandey. Programmes on women-centric issues will also be organized.
The main entry gate will be named after one of the Patna Book Fair founders, Rajesh Kumar, who passed away previous year. There will also be a small food court.
The Patna Book Fair is being organized after a gap of two years. Last time it was held in 2017 at Gyan Bhavan. However, it had proved to be disappointment for both the stall owners as well as visitors as some 40% drop in the footfalls were recorded.
Book lovers are happy to know that the fair is now being organized at its same old venue. “I am happy that book fair is being organized at Gandhi Maidan. Nothing can beat the charm of open space and buying books after strolling for some time. It’s real fun,” said Shofra Orooj, who is studying at Darbhanga House.