Update: The 2011 Darsana Book fair will be held from 28th January – 06th February at Thirunakkara Grounds.
The event is on with an awesome start. People have started pouring in already. The numbers will shoot up in the next two days – yeah, the weekend effect.
Here are the shots from Day 1. More stuff to follow 🙂
Update: The 2011 Darsana Book fair will be held from 28th January – 06th February at Thirunakkara Grounds.
Starting today, it’s festive mood at Kottayam for 10 days. The stage at the Book Fair venue will see a variety of cultural programmes all through the 10 days. This in fact, is what makes the Kottayam Book Fair stand out from other book fairs all over. You may download the full programme sheet. Given below are a few highlights.
27th
2 pm – Inauguration: Mr. Adoor Gopalakrishnan
6 pm – Folk Songs
28th
10 am – Elocution, Recitation competition
11 am – inauguration of Aksharam, Achadi, Arivu exhibition (highly recommended)
5.30 pm – Kadathanattu Madavi Amma Retrospective
7 pm – Bhaavanadanam (Documentary)
29th
11 am – Balamaniyamma Retrospective
7 pm – Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattom, Kuchuppudi
30th
10.30 am – Seminar on Script-Writing
5.30 pm – Cultural Meeting
7.00 pm – Gitanjali recitation
1st Dec
10 am – Seminar on Higher Education
4 pm – Educational Seminar
7 pm – Magic Show (Master Richin Kuzhikkadu)
2nd
10.30 am – Debate on Literary Criticism in Malayalam
5.30 pm – Kaviyarangu
7 pm – “The Sixth Sense” – A demo video of the invention by Mr. Pranav Mistry, linking physical and the digital worlds. (yes, our show!)
3rd
11 am – Lalithambika Antharjanam Retrospective
7 pm – Violin Fusion
4th
10.30 am – Media Seminar
3 pm – Inter-school Debate Competition
5.30 pm – Senior Citizens Meet
5th
10 am – District Development Seminar
7 pm – Kottayam (Documentary)
6th (final day)
4.30 pm – Valedictory Function
Update: The 2011 Darsana Book fair will be held from 28th January – 06th February at Thirunakkara Grounds.
With 60 hours to the launch, preparations are scaling high at Nagampadom Maidan. Bare structures of pavilions & stages are setup and the 10-day programme schedule is finalized. Publicity efforts are in full swing with banners and hoardings all over the town and suburbs.
This year, it’s a many-in-one event. An Educational exhibition lasting 5 days from the opening day (27th November till 1st December) and an exhibition on Malayalam Printing & Publishing lasting 8 days (28th November till 5th December) are arranged. The educational fair will see a large number of professional institutions as the participants. And the Printing & Publishing exhibition titled “Aksharam, Achadi, Arivu” is done jointly by Darsana Cultural Centre and Dept. of Publications, M.G. University.
Early responses assure the organizers a grand success. Schools and Colleges have expressed immense interest. And the Media is already abuzz with the event.
The fair will be inaugurated by the legendary film-maker, Mr. Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The inaugural ceremony will start by 2pm on 27th November (Friday).
More programme highlights to follow. Watch our special tag – bookfair09
27th November – 6th December; it’s the 26th edition of Kottayam’s mega event : The Kottayam International Book Fair organized by Darsana Cultural Centre at Municipal Grounds, Nagampadom. Enjoyed by 2lakh+ people, the Kottayam International Book Fair is the oldest and the biggest book exhibition of the State.
As clear from this, all aspects of the book fair have been tremendously progressing edition by edition.
For the 10 fair days, Kottayam will be buzzing with book lovers from all districts of erstwhile Central Travancore. And the 10 awesome days will see all cultural leaders of the state in town, for the numerous programmes/meets as part of the fair.
Book fair, for the people of Kottayam, is not just another commercial fete. For many it’s nostalgic. Since this has been happening here for a long period of 25+ years, it is considered a part of Kottayam’s living and a happy time of the year. And this very emotional attachment with the fair is what makes it stand out and shine amidst the innumerable other events. The characteristic feature of the event is that, in India, it is the book fair visited by the largest number of families.
The charm of the book fair doesn’t die out with the event. It continues and every year, it’s rekindled. And this time, we’re here to celebrate it like never before. This is the first book fair for KP (KottayamPattanam) and we’re getting ready to absorb and reproduce the charm & splendour of the event, to the maximum detail possible.
Coming days will see more posts on the event. All posts about the event will carry the official tag – bookfair09