(From left) HRD minister PK Shahi, chief minister Nitish Kumar and littérateur Namwar Singh at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Monday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, March 21: The state capital is scheduled to witness an international book fair in the coming days with National Book Trust (NBT), a publishing house, working on the state government’s proposal to organise it here.

“I am extremely happy to learn that NBT has been working on our proposal to organise the international book fair,” chief minister Nitish Kumar said, while inaugurating a weeklong national book fair — a part of Bihar Divas celebrations at the Gandhi Maidan here.

Earlier, NBT officials apprised the audience that the publishing house received a proposal from the state chief secretary for organising the international book fair. “The NBT is in the process of roping in international publishers. It should succeed in organising the event soon,” NBT’s assistant editor Rakesh Kumar said, while giving a vote of thanks to the chief minister and literary personalities on the dais.

Nitish used the occasion to announce the revival of the state’s important libraries, which have been gasping for oxygen for over two decades. “We have drawn up plans to revive libraries across the state to inculcate reading habit among the people,” the chief minister said. “The state government is also in the process of making a new law to revive libraries and make budgetary provision for their maintenance,” Nitish added.

Noted Hindi littérateur and critic Namwar Singh and the head of department in Hindi at Delhi University, Gopeshwar Singh, recalled the contributions of great Hindi poet, Nagarjun, who hailed from Bihar and three other Hindi poets whose centenary were being celebrated at the national-level.

Namwar pointed out Bihar was one of a few big states, which had been organising a national book fair regularly. “The success of the book fair in the state proves that it had a good share of bibliophiles and the people of the state had been preserving the reading habit which was decreasing due to the invasion of the electronic media into the drawing and living rooms,” Namwar said.

The chief minister differed, saying that the surge in electronic media hardly had an impact on print media, which has been growing in circulation and popularity.

Nitish recalled the role of poets and novelists like Nagarjun and Fanishwar Nath Renu.

“I vividly recall how Nagarjun chanted his famous couplet: ‘Indu ji, Indu ji kya hua hai aap ko (Indu ji, what has happened to you)’ during the emergency in the 1970s and how he attracted a huge numbers of common people,” Nitish, who was an activist himself during the emergency, recounted.

Nagarjun’s Induji referred to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Nitish dealt at length on the contributions of littérateurs, academics and institutions, which had “global appeal” in the past.