Holiday, but make it books: Young crowds fill Balrampur Garden

Lucknow. The 23rd National Book Fair at Balrampur Garden on Ashok Marg saw a strong turnout of young readers on its second day, which coincided with the Gandhi Jayanti holiday. Themed around "Vande Mataram," the fair is displaying a wide mix of new and popular titles.

At the Prabhat Prakashan stall, readers are picking up Sangharsh by former police officer Prakash Singh; Assi Ke Das Saheb, a book on Ram Bahadur Rai edited by Hemant Sharma; and Tera Raaj Nahin Aayega Re by Rajiv Ranjan and Rachna Naidu, which looks at lesser-known aspects of Maoism. Also in demand are Dr. Sarvan Singh Baghel's Charaiwati and Sakshatkar Darpan by former IAS officer Arvind Kumar Singh, which draws on Indian consciousness and offers interview guidance.

Rajpal Publications is drawing interest with Hariram Meena's Dhooni Tape Teer, Bhagwant Anmol's Bawani Imli, set against the 1857 uprising, and Devdutt Pattanaik's Kamal in Indian Religious and Cultural Traditions. At the Rajkamal stall, popular titles include Mrinal Pande's Udti Stree, Manisha Kulshreshtha's Meghdoot Ki Raah Ke Pathik, Shantwana Dubey Tiwari's Meri New York Diary and Neha Dixit's translation Koi Ek Saeeda.

The day was filled with book discussions, poetry and literary sessions. At a session organised by Authors Adda, Aditi Kumar, Usha Kumar, Vineet K. Tripathi and Vijay Pal Singh spoke about their books, while Rekha Agrawal presented bhajans. Writers and scholars later discussed Shailendra Jasraj's Kahani Phir Kabhi and Koi Geet Subah Ke Gaata Hai, as well as Sumbul Siddiqui's English books Echoes of Resilience and Unbroken Glow.

On the second stage, a literary discussion featured Sanjay Jaiswal, Sarvesh Asthana and others, and book lovers shared their own writings.

The fair is open daily from 11 am to 9 pm, with a minimum 10 per cent discount on every book.

It is being organised with the support of UP Metro, Radio City, Origins, Kiran Foundation, Join Hands Foundation, Lokangan, Vishwam Foundation, Vijay Studio, Golden Grass and Kavita Kisse Kahaniyan.