Marathi literary fest a reader’s paradise
It is going to be a Marathi delight at the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the annual book exhibition that is part of the 84th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan.
It is going to be a Marathi delight at the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the annual book exhibition that is part of the 84th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan.
The literary fest will be held from December 24 to 27. Writer and critic DB Kulkarni will inaugurate it. The book exhibition consists of 250 bookstalls displaying about 40,000 Marathi books.
It’s the last place you would expect to get a lesson in using Kindle, but people visiting the book exhibition at the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan can expect to find e-books in Marathi. Conducting a book exhibition and giving a platform for publishers to launch new books has been a tradition in the annual literary meet.
From Marathi translations of bestsellers to original works, the exhibition will house all genres of Marathi writing.
Writer SN Navare will launch 13 new books published by Mehta Publication including Marathi translations of Digital Fortress by Dan Brown and Will The Iron Fence Save A Tree Hollowed By Termites? by Arun Shourie. The publication house will also display about 1,300 titles at the exhibition.
Vijay Kothavale, director of the Majestic Book House based in Thane, thinks there is more to gain from the meet than the profit. “To have an independent stall at the sammelan is a matter of reputation and fame rather than the business,” he said. Majestic House will have five stalls displaying about 800 titles.
Three publication houses — Mouj Prakashan Griha, Jyostna and Rohan Prakashan — will jointly display 1,000 books. It will also launch two books at the exhibition — Dadasaheb Phalke Kal Ani Kartutva by Jaya Gatkar and Satyajit Ray Ani Bharatiya Manvantar by Shyamla Vanarase.
“I am sure the response in Thane will be fantastic and we will reach our target sale of Rs 9 lakh this year,” said Mukund Bhagavat, in charge of the finance and sales at the Mouj Prakashan.
For Popular Prakashan, another book house, the annual meet is the best opportunity to reach the masses. “Sahitya Sammelan is held in different cities every year so we get the opportunity to make our books available to those we might not be able to reach on regular basis,” said Asmita Mohite, editor with Popular Prakashan.
The meet will showcase new technology such as Kindle, Amazon’s e-book reader.