The 43rd Agartala Book Fair is set to be held from January 2 to January 14, as confirmed in a preparatory meeting chaired by Tripura Chief Minister, Professor (Dr.) Manik Saha.
The preparatory meeting was held at the Muktadhara Auditorium in Agartala on Monday. This annual event, celebrated as a cultural highlight in Agartala, seeks to foster a love for reading, especially among the youth.
In his address, Chief Minister Dr Saha conveyed his best wishes for the success of the upcoming book fair, underscoring its role in promoting a culture of reading amid the growing dominance of social media and the internet.
“Efforts should be made to engage the younger generation with books,” he said, acknowledging that encouraging reading in the digital age is a challenging endeavor.
The Chief Minister urged organizers to actively involve students from various educational levels to make the book fair more youth-centric. Besides, he appealed to local clubs and organizations to support the event by purchasing books.
Dr. PK Chakraborty, Secretary of the Information and Culture Department, reflected on the success of the previous year’s fair, which revolved around the theme “Glorious India.”
The 42nd edition hosted 175 book stalls and attracted 1,600 artists from across Tripura, showcasing diverse cultural performances, he said.
The secretary further said, the 42nd book fair also included a poetry summit with 345 participating poets and saw the publication of 154 new books.
In addition, seminars, quizzes, and extempore speech competitions added to the intellectual atmosphere of the fair.
Chakraborty emphasized that this year’s event would aim to expand these programs, aligning with the fair’s objective of enhancing literacy and intellectual engagement in Tripura.
The meeting witnessed discussions from several prominent figures, including Director of the Information and Culture Department Bimbisar Bhattacharya, journalists Shanit Debroy, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Dibakar Debnath, Supriya Dutta, and Uttam Chakraborty, along with members of the All Tripura Book Sellers and Publishers Association and renowned poet Nakul Roy.
Other notable attendees included Deputy Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly Ramprasad Pal, Mayor of Agartala Municipal Corporation and MLA Deepak Majumdar, Chairman of the West Tripura Zilla Parishad Balai Goswami, and Vice-Chancellor of MBB University, Satydeo Poddar.
(Tripura, Northeast)
