12th Delhi Book Fair kicks off

New Delhi, Sep 16 (UNI) Adolf Hitler will get to rub shoulder with Mahatma Gandhi and so will Dharamveer Bharti's 'Gunahon Ka Devta' share shelf with Maharshi Valmiki's epic Ramayana.

The nine-day Delhi Book Fair that kicked off today 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 'Mein Kampf' is once again a popular title alongwith 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.

Nearly 260 leading publishers and booksellers from India and abroad are taking part in the fair, the 12th of its kind. Foreign participation includes publishers and distributors from the US, China, Iran, Pakistan and Mauritius.

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. Lyricist Javed Akhtar was present as the Chief Guest.

UNI VN SAM KP1927