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16th NE Book Fair from today

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Oct 31 � Sixteen eminent personalities from cultural and literary fields would light the inaugural lamp of the 16th North East Book Fair tomorrow at AEI Field Chandmari. To be held till November 12, the fair would also host a number of cultural and literary activities commemorating the life and deeds of eight prominent Assamese personalities who would have attained the age of 100 years by now.

Though the schedule of the fair have been preponed abruptly to make way for another book fair under the aegis of the State government, the organizers hoped that the fair would receive positive response from the people.

Addressing the media here, Ajit Kumar Barman, president of the All Assam Publishers and Book Seller Association, the organizers, said that a number of publishing houses from different parts of the country are participating in the fair. �Indian Museum, Kolkata would be bringing a number of exhibits and books for first time, which would be an added attraction of the fair,� he added.

Nalinidhar Bhattacharyya, Dhirendra Nath Chakravartty, Jatin Goswami, Dhirendra Nath Bezboruah, Radhika Mohan Bhagawati, Badal Das, Kanaksen Deka, Mohamad Taher, Arun Sarma, Sudakshina Sarma, Dr Lakshmi Nandan Bora, Dr Anima Guha, Nirupama Borgohain, Upendra Nath Sarma, Ram Niranjan Goenka and Shaktimoy Das would inaugurate the book fair.

Union Ministers Sarbananda Sonowal and Smriti Irani are also expected to participate in the fair. Tomorrow, a procession would be taken out from Guwahati Press Club to the AEI Field.

�Though we expected international participation from Italy and Bangladesh, due to a change in schedule, they could not come to Guwahati. Publication houses from Italy have booked 3000 sq feet area in the fair venue, which was cancelled ultimately,� said Dhiraj Goswami, general secretary of the association.

The organizers further said that if the schedule remains unchanged next year, the fair would go international by 2015. Two days of the fair would be dedicated to the lives and deeds of eminent personalities including Hem Barua, Debakanta Barua, Lakhyadhar Choudhury, Dr Maheswar Neog, Kanchan Baruah, Munin Borkotoky, Gajen Baruah and Dinanath Sarma. As a focal theme of this year�s book fair, the works and contributions of all these writers would be remembered.

On November 5, tributes would be paid to cultural icon Dr Bhupen Hazarika on his fourth death anniversary, that would be followed by a daylong cultural programme based on Dr Hazarika�s music.

Interactive sessions with political analyst BG Verghese and journalist Prabhu Chawla on November 8 and 9 respectively would attract the visitors interested in politics and current affairs.

A total of 80 publishing houses from Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiyana, Kolkata, Agartala, Siliguri and Guwahati would be putting up 200 stalls in the fair.

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