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National Book Fair: From Dostoevsky to Homer, translations steal the show in Lucknow
The 22nd National Book Fair features a variety of translated works and popular Hindi titles, attracting readers with diverse literary interests.
The 22nd edition of the National Book Fair, which was inaugurated at Balrampur Garden here on Thursday, has a wide range of books published in Hindi after being translated from foreign languages like Spanish, French, German and Russian even as famous works of renowned Hindi authors like “Gunahon Ka Devta” by Dharamvir Bharti, “Godaan” by Munshi Premchand and “Madhushala” by Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan continue to be among the major picks at the event.
If one wants to read Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” or “The Idiot”, they can find them as “Apradh aur Dand” and “Baudam”. For those wanting to understand ancient Greek philosophy, Homer’s “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” can be found in Hindi at a stall set by Dinkar Publications.
“These days people are interested in reading stories from across the world. So, we have several translated books at our stall this time,” said Mayank Jha, a representative of Dinkar Publications. Rakesh Singh, a representative of Rashtriya Gyanpeeth, said “Gunahon ka Devta” is the most sought-after book as other publishers unanimously nodded.
“This year after the making of the movie Chhaava, a book published on Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, also known as Chhaava, is also popular among readers,” said Singh. Atul Maheshwari, a representative of Vaani Publication shared that collections of Urdu couplets by poets Munawwar Rana, Rahat Indori, Bashir Badr besides Gulzar are among the top picks by visitors.
Books such as “Awara Masiha” by Vishnu Prabhakar and “Manas Ka Hans” by Amritlal Nagar are also available while informative collections with graphical images are among top picks for children.
“Besides, a series of stories of various cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Jaipur and Varanasi are available for kids,” said Ashok Shukla, a representative at Rajpal and Sons Publication. He also shared that books on Kashmir like “Mukhbir” and religious books redefined are also widely available.
“There are several new titles on Kashmir which includes “Lahuluhan Kashmir aur Tadapti Kashmiriyat”. We also have self-help books originally written in Hindi. They include “Just Chill Yaar”. Translations of Urdu books like “Is Aabad Kharabe Mein” are also available at our stall,” said Rahul Srivastava, a representative of Setu Prakashan.
Gaurav Singh, a representative of Prabhat Prakashan, said redefined “Ramayana”, “Geeta Rathi” and “Mahabharata” are also available. “We have shorter versions of the religious books which one can read in a go,” said Singh. A matchbox size Bhagavad Gita is also available at a stall set by Nikhil Publishers and Distributors.
