Lucknow Book Fair: Young Readers Drawn to Bhagat Singh’s Radical Ideas

Lucknow— The vibrant corridors of Ravindralaya echoed with animated conversations, book discussions and poetry on the second day of the Lucknow Book Fair, where a striking trend caught the attention of publishers and organisers alike — the growing curiosity of young readers toward the writings of revolutionary thinker Bhagat Singh.

Among the wide array of titles available at the fair, Singh’s famous essay collection “Why I Am an Atheist” emerged as a favourite among students and young visitors. While spiritual and philosophical books continue to attract readers, the surge of interest in progressive and ideological literature reflects a changing intellectual appetite among the youth.

Being a holiday, the fair witnessed a steady stream of visitors throughout the day. Teachers, school administrators and education enthusiasts were seen browsing through stacks of academic and literary works. With free entry and a minimum 10 percent discount on every book, the fair has become an attractive destination for book lovers across the city.

According to Narendra Singh, an official from the National Book Trust stall, several titles are drawing significant attention. “Books like Why I Am an Atheist, Vedic Mathematics for Children, and The Story of Our Rivers are selling well. Interestingly, Urdu publications are also receiving a warm response from Lucknow readers,” he noted.

The fair also served as a lively literary platform with multiple book launches and discussions taking place through the day. In a morning ceremony organised by Navsrijan Prakashan under the chairmanship of Mahesh Chandra Dwivedi, several new works were unveiled. These included Manju Saxena’s short story collection Ek Cup Chai, Shri Krishna Dwivedi Dwijesh’s poetry compilation Chhaya Basant Rahe, Hemant Kumar’s essay collection Avadh ka Lok Itihas, Dr Sushma Saumya’s song collection Naman, Anil Kishore Shukla’s poetry book Mere Ashtapadi Ageet, and Manorama Srivastava’s ghazal collection Titliyon ke Desh Mein. The event was attended by noted literary personalities including Manu Vajpayee, Dr Yogesh, Devesh Dwivedi and Dr Sudha Mishra.

Another engaging session focused on Dr Shipra Chaturvedi’s book German Folk Tales and Cultural Motifs, where discussions revolved around classic stories such as Heidi and Kaspar Hauser. Young performers Abhay, Adamya, Pranjal and Srishti presented a stage adaptation of the tale Till, adding theatrical charm to the literary conversation.

Later in the day, Dr Ashwini Kumar Malhotra interacted with readers and discussed his book Ek Doctor Ki Kalam Se along with two of his other works, engaging the audience in a thoughtful dialogue about literature and life experiences.

A highlight of the evening was the launch and discussion of architect Vipul Varshney’s book Avadh ke Mandir. The session was chaired by Padma Shri awardee Dr Vidya Vindu Singh and moderated by Chandrashekhar Verma. Scholars and writers including Dr Anand Prakash Maheshwari, author Vipul Varshney and Alka Pramod — who wrote the Hindi foreword of the book — participated in the discussion.

The day concluded with a lively Kavi Goshti organised by Sahitya Sadhak Sanstha, where poets shared their verses with an enthusiastic audience.

With its blend of literature, dialogue, theatre and poetry, the Lucknow Book Fair is steadily evolving into a cultural hub — one where ideas, traditions and new voices meet between the pages of books.