Lucknow: The fifth day of the ongoing Lucknow Book Fair at Ravindralaya Charbagh witnessed a vibrant mix of literary discussions, poetry sessions and enthusiastic participation from students searching for books related to competitive examinations.
With competition becoming a defining aspect of academic and professional life, groups of college students were seen exploring various stalls in search of study material for exams such as NET, JRF, SET, police and banking recruitment, Lekhpal examinations and polytechnic entrance tests. At the stall of Upkar Prakashan, a wide range of preparation books for competitive examinations attracted significant attention. Books for entrance tests of institutions such as Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, VidyaGyan School and Sainik School were also available along with practice sheets and general knowledge guides.
Other stalls, including those of Bhartiya Kala Prakashan and National Book Trust, showcased authentic books on Indian culture and history, attracting readers interested in scholarly works.
The literary stage of the fair began the day’s events with a discussion organised by the Awadhi Sahitya Sansthan from Amethi. During the session, speaker Dr. Rambhadur Mishra highlighted efforts to expand the reach of the Awadhi language. He informed that Awadhi language classes have been introduced at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University and that courses are also running for the second year at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University.
Additional Director of Secondary Education Vivek Nautiyal emphasised the importance of preserving Awadhi traditions. The event also featured Awadhi haiku recitations by Meenu Khare, followed by poetry readings from nearly 30 poets.
A book titled Vyakti Nirman Se Rashtra Nirman by Arvind Pandey was released during the programme. The discussion on the book included remarks from former Member of Parliament Praveen Nishad, along with Meena Chaube and Dr. Pooja Thakur Sikera. Author Saurabh also spoke about his book Khatte Meethe Anubhav.
The fair also hosted an Awadhi food festival where visitors relished traditional dishes such as dal ke phare, aloo-kachalu and dhaniya ke aloo. Culinary experts Neelam and Jyoti Kiran Ratan demonstrated the preparation methods of these regional delicacies.
Later in the evening, a poetry gathering organised by the Hindi Sahitya Academy was coordinated by Shikha Srivastava and Vandana Srivastava, with Shailesh Mahi conducting the session. Poets including Anita Mishra, Dr. Seema, Kavita Mishra, Ratnesh Raj, Divyansh Divyam, Satyadev Singh, Sachin Dixit, Shubham Shukla, Ajay Verma Saathi, Sunil Mehrotra, Ravindra Srivastava, Vanya and Rashmi Sharad presented their compositions.
The day concluded with a musical poetry programme organised by Bhushundi Sansthan, adding a melodic touch to the literary celebrations at the fair.
