Stalls and the entrance to the Patna Book Fair taking shape at Gandhi Maidan on Wednesday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Artisans from Calcutta and Lucknow are busy setting up the stalls for the 21st Patna Book Fair starting from Friday.

Organised at the Gandhi Maidan by Centre for Readership Development, the fair will continue till November 18. During this time, residents and bookworms can enjoy cultural programmes and discussions on social issues. Children will be in focus at the fair.

The Centre for Readership Development is a voluntary association of technocrats, social scientists, journalists and writers. It has taken up the challenge of empowering the common man through books. It has been organising the book fair in Patna since 1985.

“This year, around 300 artisans have come from Calcutta and Lucknow to give final shape to the ground,” said Centre for Readership Development president Ratneshwar.

He added that the theme of this year’s fair is children conscience and women representation.

Children’s literature would be accorded special attention at the fair, he also said.

As part of the initiative, upcoming children’s writers would be promoted, as would be creative reading and writing among schoolchildren.

The book fair will also be dedicated to late Hindi writers Madhukar Singh (who passed away this July) and Robin Shaw Pushp (who passed away last month). Around 900 stalls would be put up out of which around 200 would be of different government departments, educational institutions and non-profit organisations.

Among the attractions at the 12-day event would be Desaj, a cultural programme, Samaj (discussion on social issues) and a film screening by Cine Society, Patna.

Desaj will be organised daily by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Prominent artistes who would perform at the event are Teejan Bai from Chhattisgarh, Purisai Kanappa from Tamil Nadu, Nadirag from Assam and Manzoor Mir from Jammu and Kashmir, said Patna Book Fair president H.L. Gulati.

Several artistes from Bihar would also present traditional dance and folk plays during the fair.

Ratneshwar said awareness would be spread on 10 issues — right to information, health, save the girl child, child labour eradication, human smuggling, road safety, insurance, Ganga Bachao, self-employment and organ donation — at Samaj.

Apart from all this, Cine Society, Patna, will screen adaptations from books. The films, including Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil and Maithili, will be screened from November 8-12. On the last day of the fair, November 18, awards will be given to personalities who have excelled in theatre, literature and journalism.