Visitors browse through an array of books at the fair in Exhibition Ground in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 2: The 11th edition of the Rajdhani Book Fair began at the Exhibition Ground in the city on Wednesday. Booksellers and publishers from 15 states including Calcutta, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai are participating in the 12-day event, which was inaugurated by chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

More than 500 kiosks have been set up for books on various themes and subjects such as children’s literature, best sellers, fiction, non-fiction, self help, religion etc. For, Oriya publishers the fair is an opportunity to reach out to more readers and create interest in vernacular literature.

“With the changing mindsets of readers, it becomes difficult for us to assess what they wish to read and how they want it to be presented. Fairs like these help us interact with them and collect their suggestions,” said Jibanananda Mishra, proprietor of Vidyapuri publications in Cuttack.

“Among Oriya books, mostly veteran litterateurs are sought after. But the interest for children’s fiction in Oriya is also growing,” he added.

Smrutishree Sahoo, a homemaker, said: “I find a lot of children’s literature in Oriya at the fair. It is usually not available in the market.”

Some of the oldest local publishers such as Grantha Mandir, Friends’ Publishers, Vidyapuri, Jagannath Rath Publishers, Cuttack Students’ Store, Prachi Sahitya Sansthan and others are participating in the event.

“Publishers from outside the state, especially those dealing in educational books, have also come in large numbers,” said Ramesh Chandra Swain, convenor of the event.

Book lovers can find classics as well as works of younger generation authors, both in English and Oriya. Course-oriented books on subjects such as engineering, humanities, law and business management are also present. Almost all the kiosks offer discounts and even schemes to readers.

“What I look for at the fair every year are the low-priced second-hand books. While scanning through the pile of books you sometimes come across masterpieces,” says Dibyajyoti Samal, a college student.

Apart from books, there are kiosks of feng shui articles, healthcare products, career counselling institutes, educational institutes and others. The computer games and CD kiosk is one of the most popular at the fair.

A number of books are also released and literary programmes are held in every evening.

“The chief minister launched 20 books on Wednesday. At least two are released everyday. We will also be holding an award ceremony for Oriya authors of various genres during the valedictory function,” said Swain.

The exhibition is on till December 12.