12th Delhi Book Fair begins at Pragati Maidan

20 members from Pakistan, buyers from UK, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius and Uganda will visit the fair.

Adolf Hitler will get to rub shoulder with Mahatma Gandhi and so will Dharamveer Bharti's 'GunahonKa Devta' share shelf with Maharshi Valmiki's epic Ramayana.

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The nine-day Delhi Book Fair that kicked off on Saturday, brings much of the old, and some of the new titles before booklovers once more in five halls of the sprawling Pragati Maidan.

Mirroring current socio-political debates over terrorism and violence, the Nazi leader's 'MeinKampf' is once again a popular title with Mahatma Gandhi's 'My Experiments with Truth'.

For GenNext tired of turning pages, there's a bookless corner where search vehicle Google has once again stationed itself with three laptops, attracting publishers and writers to share a slice of the business on the World Wide Web.

"Young people are increasingly turning to the web, instead of the library, when they need to search for a book. We are thus trying to attract publishers and writers to put their titles on the internet," Theresa Rij of the Google's Book Search Online explained.

"We met with 75 per cent success with publishers and writers when we were here last for the World Book Fair," said her colleague Gautam Anand.

According to the Federation of Indian Publishers, a 20-member delegation from Pakistan besides several buyers from UK, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius and Uganda are expected to visit the fair.

National and international publishers, distributors, librarians and researchers besides academicians, writers, teachers, students and book lovers are also expected throng the book fest.

Besides the book fair, the 8th edition of Stationery Fair has also been organised alongside for a range of educational and office stationery products including paper products, writing instruments, computer peripherals, drawing and painting materials, office supplies, etc.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit inaugurated the event.