Lucknow: The 22nd National Book Fair is past its halfway point, and at Balrampur Garden on Ashok Marg, readers’ love for books is at a fever pitch. Literature on spirituality, philosophy, and religion is in high demand, not just among the elderly but also among the youth.
“It is 10 times better to chant than to perform a yagna, 100 times better to chant softly without words, and 1,000 times better to chant in the mind,” a phrase found in Swami Anand’s book ‘Mahamantra,’ available at the Vedic literature stall. This stall offers a wide range of literature from the Vedas and the Arya Samaj. At the Osho Mitra Mandal stall, Osho’s works like ‘Sambhog Se Samadhi’ (From Sex to Samadhi), ‘Nari Aur Kranti’ (Woman and Revolution), and ‘Antaryatra Main Se Mukti’ (Inner Journey: Liberation from Self) are in high demand.
Rahul from the Ramakrishna Math, who brought literature by Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Vivekananda, noted that today’s youth are stressed. They are drawn to books on meditation and its techniques, such as Vivekananda’s ‘Powers of Mind,’ priced at a modest Rs 35 and Rs 12. The Gita Press stall features special editions of the Gita in various sizes and languages, as well as old issues of the ‘Kalyan’ magazine. Buddhist literature and philosophy books are available at stalls like Samyak and Gautam, while religious and spiritual books can be found at almost every stall, including Prabhat, Rajpal, Rajkamal, Vani, Setu, Samayik, Sasta Sahitya, and Unbound Script.
On the seventh day of the fair, which concludes on September 14, there were both children’s and youth programs as well as serious discussions.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak launched the Hindi and English editions of Amitabh Kumar’s research work, Kumbh Diaries, published by Divyansh Publications. Congratulating the author, he said the book is a confluence of literature, science, and astrology—a research paper that will give the pleasure of a Kumbh Snan (holy dip) to readers who have never been to the Kumbh Mela.
The event, presided over by AK Satpathi, General Manager of North Eastern Railway, was attended by Sandeep Bansal (President of the Business Association), senior journalist Ashutosh Shukla, Jitendra Singh (Railway Officers’ Association), Information Commissioner Mohd. Nadeem, Sarvesh Asthana, and Neeraj Arora.
Earlier in the day, after the launch of Vijay Tanha’s book, ‘Hind Ki Hindi,’ children from Mohanlalganj’s Don Bosco Asylum, presented a dance-drama titled “Humari Suno” (Listen to Us) on the topic of child abuse at home and in the workplace. The play featured performances by Satyendra, Vivek, Juman, Vikas, Ramesh, Deepak, Ali, Deepu, Vishal, and Aman Rawat.
Under the auspices of the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad Mahanagar, a discussion on Payal Lakshmi Soni’s poetry collection, Ek Saans Sabke Hisse Se, was held. The discussion was presided over by Nirbhay Narayan Gupta and moderated by Mamata Pankaj. Main speakers, along with Vishwas Lakhnavi, Narendra Bhushan, Kamlesh Mridul, Rajiv Verma Vatsal, and Jyoti Kiran, shared their views and called the collection a valuable legacy of contemporary literature. The event also included poetry readings by Giriraj Kishore, Alka Asthana, Manmohan Barakoti, Sanjeev Srivastava, Madhuri Mahakash, and Archana Prakash. In the evening, a poetry session by the Aviral Seva Sansthan featured compositions on social issues and love.
