The National Book Fair in Islamabad
By Saira Zafir
Gold River, CA
In the age of smart phones and social media, who has the time to read a book? However, in the era of bookstore closures and dwindling readership of newspapers and books, it was quite refreshing to see a large-scale book fair in Islamabad recently.
We all know that the first word revealed to our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the Arabic word “iqra” which means “read,” adding a spiritual significance to the act of reading. Reading refines a person’s cognitive skills and develops a creative mind. A good choice of reading material also promotes critical thinking in an individual.
Since my childhood, my father has been the bibliomaniac of our family. He has a huge collection of famous books on various topics which has filled up every nook and corner in his room in addition to many bookshelves spread over other rooms. No doubt, I have inherited my literary interest from him.
On April 6, my father took me to the National Book Fair held at the Pak–China Friendship Center in Islamabad. The three-day event was organized by the National Book Foundation under the title "Kitaboon Ki DuniyaSalamatRahey". The purpose of this event was to promote and highlight literature’s role in the Pakistani culture and society.
These festivals develop the literacy skills among different age groups of Pakistani citizens. Book lovers like students, writers, political and nonpolitical personalities attended the event. Many interesting books on fiction, nonfiction, religious, political and nonpolitical topics were available. I was happy to see that besides women and men, a large number of children and youth appeared visibly interested in the books on display.
There were almost 130 book stalls at the fair. Different reading sessions and many other activities for children were also organized. National Book Foundation and 110 private publishers carried books on interesting and diversified subjects. One-hundred renowned national publishers and many others from China, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Tajikistan, Oman and Azerbaijan participated in the book festival.
The eye-catching statues of Quaid-i-Azam, DrAllama Iqbal and Mirza Ghalib were displayed at the event, and were a major attraction for the visitors at the event.
The enthusiastic response of the Pakistani citizens who were there with families and friends was remarkable. People came not only from Islamabad but also from other close-by areas. It was also very impressive to see some special need children attending the festival. A few were on wheelchairs and were seen actively participating in different events despite of their disabilities. Their participation was inspirational. Besides, there was a group of blind children who sang a beautiful poem about the importance of good books and touched the hearts of many among the crowd.
I also bought some new offerings of famous motivational speaker Qasim Ali Shah and some new authors. I left the event with the conviction that these intellectually stimulating fairs will bring out the hidden talent of ordinary Pakistani citizens and lessen the illiteracy rate in Pakistan. I hope that such programs will motivate our youth and children to learn the power of reading which is important for their mental growth and educational attainments. These educational tools will not only reform our generations, harness their potential and promise, but benefit the nation too in the long run. For a civilized society, such programs can serve as a catalyst to disseminate knowledge. Success would soon follow leading the nation towards prosperity and progress.
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