By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS
New Delhi : Pakistani publishers and exhibitors at the World Book Fair here are a happy lot as business this time has soared in comparison to earlier years. Works on literature and the Urdu language are doing especially well.
“I have been participating in the New Delhi World Book Fair since 1982. I can tell you that it’s growing business that is pulling me here every time,” said Ahmad Ali Sheikh, a publisher from Lahore, Pakistan.
“There is certainly good business this time and you can see the number of customers at my stall,” Sheikh said.
“In the last six days, I have sold over 75 percent of my stock of books. Besides business, common language, food habit and even my business related friends are keeping me in good humour,” he said while selling a book named “Alive and Well in Pakistan”. “The Scientific Sensibility of Ghalib” was another prominent book at his stall.
The World Book Fair that began Feb 2 will continue till Feb 10. Over 1,300 publishers and exhibitors from 20 countries are participating in the Book Fair. There are six publishers from Pakistan.
The National Book Trust, an autonomous organisation under the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry, organises the World Book Fair every two years. The ongoing fair is the 18th edition.
Muhammad Zubair Abidi, general manager of Manshurat, a publishing house, said: “In comparison to the last Book Fair, business has gone up by nearly 40 percent.
“It’s my second visit to the Book Fair. Last time it was a learning experience and this year it has been pure business,” Abidi told IANS.
Besides publishers, the Association for Academic Quality (AFAQ), a not-for-profit-organisation working to promote education in Pakistan, too is exhibiting its education training material and looking for business partners in India.
“We have all kinds of education training tools, books and methods. We are here to look for some business partner who can take copyright from us and reprint them in India,” said Usman Ayub, zonal manager of AFAQ.
“Some publishers have interacted with us and we are happy at the business prospects,” Ayub said.
Irshad al-Mujib, assistant director of Iqbal Academy in Pakistan, had a different view.
“Business is definitely there. But I think people-to-people relations between India and Pakistan are over every other consideration. I think books can help people on both sides of the border to come closer,” al-Mujib said.
“How To Read Iqbal” was one of the books at his stall.
“Iqbal is a great poet and the pride of both India and Pakistan. His books are selling like hot cakes here. But, most importantly, people are loving Pakistanis and not hesitating to come forward and shake hands or exchange a few words,” he added.
“More than business, it’s helping the cause of friendship.”