Taslima Nasreen reiterates ''No Country for Women''

New Delhi, Feb 4 (UNI) Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen is back with yet another book: a compilation of her works on the plight of women.

In ''No Country for Women'', a compilation of her best articles, the author has uninhibitedly talked of the condition of womenfolk, intending to ask them to come out of their shells and speak their mind.

The publisher of the book, Vitasta Publishing Pvt Ltd, has displayed the book in its stall at the ongoing 19th New Delhi World Book Fair.

''Nobody can hide from the fact that where there is Nasreen, there is controversy. We are meeting both fans and critics of her at the stall,'' Renu Kaul Verma, Publishing Director of the publishing house, told UNI.

Nasreen has strongly advocated women to bid adieu to their submissive attitudes and fight for their dues which are rightfully theirs but unfortunately not allowed.

She states, ''...behind the powdered faces of the elite society lies the stark reality where law is violated with impunity and where a woman is not regarded as a human being... she is a thing to be exploited, molested and raped....''

Sharing an incident that happened at the publishing house's stall yesterday, Ms Verma said, ''A person came to us and asked if we had any policy by which he can return the book. When asked the reason, he said he read the first two chapters of the book and could not digest it further.''

''Not everybody is able to handle her bold articulation and sharp presentation easily,'' she added.

Priced at Rs 245, the book has already sold more than 30 copies in two days. ''We are hopeful to find more readers and takers of the books till the fair ends and even later,'' Ms Kaul said.

Rediscovering Nehru: Delighted readers, depressed buyers at WBF

New Delhi, Feb 3 (UNI) Aiming to rediscover Jawaharlal Nehru, an exhibit of books on and by the visionary leader at the ongoing 19th New Delhi World Book Fair here is receiving a mixed response by the Indian history lovers.

While some visitors were feeling dejected when informed that the books at the exhibit were only on display, the others were enthralled to see the film series on
the first Prime Minister of an independent India being showcased at the stall.

More than 400 books on and by the leader have been displayed at the exhibit. However, booklovers are returning home depressed on learning that the same are not for sale.

''The books should be available for sale. A week-long book fair is not enough to know about a person like Nehru,'' Sanjay Sharma, a businessman, told UNI.

Nishant Mishra, a student of BA (Hons) in History from Delhi University, was also disheartened. ''I have to make a project on the life of Nehru and the best books are
available here. However, I cannot take them home,'' he rued.

The collective exhibit has been set up by the National Book Trust, the fair organiser, with the help of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library that has houses books in various languages, including English, Hindi, Telegu, Kannada, Malyalam,
Gujarati, Punjabi, Bangla, Marathi, Oriya and Urdu.

The organisers have suggested a solution to those interested in adding the books to their collection.

''The visitors can note down the name of the book and its publisher and then buy it from the stall of the respective publisher at the fair,'' NBT assistant editor in Telegu Pathipaka Mohan said.

And in case the readers have time at their disposal, the exhibit also has a proper sitting arrangement where they can read for hours together, he added.

Books like 'Chacha Nehru' by Mulk Raj Anand, 'Don't Spare Me Shankar', a collection of cartoons on Nehru by renowned cartoonist Shankar, 'Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru in 39 volumes', 'Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Volume', 'Speeches by Nehru' among others, are up for display.

Mr Mohan informed that most of the books at the exhibit have been borrowed by the Nehru Library situated at the Teen Murti Bhawan here.

Another elderly visitor, V S Ahlawat, was really pleased looking at the books on the display. ''The titles have not only talked about a statesman and a visionary leader but have equally acknowledged authors too,'' he said.

One of the other major attractions at the collective exhibit is a film series on Nehru being showcased daily. Called the 'Nehru Bioscopes', the shows have been organised by the Film Club of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

The films being shown include 'Nehru' by Shyam Benegal; 'Vision of Independent India: Nehru' by N S Thapa; 'Nehru: A Pictorial Biography' by G S Raina and
'Bharat Ek Khoj', an acclaimed television serial by Shyam Benegal and others.

The movie series are attracting visitors, both youth and elders, alike.

Pranab terms declaration of assets by Ministers as a normal practice

New Delhi, Feb 3 (UNI) Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said declaration of assets and liabilities by Ministers was a ''normal practice''.

Quizzed about his reaction to the statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had reportedly asked all Ministers to disclose their assets and liabilities, Mr Mukherjee said, ''That is a normal practice.''

''The practice is whenever a Minister gives a statement of his assets and liabilities annually, he has to submit it to the Prime Minister and Speaker,'' he added while interacting with the media on the sidelines of a book release here.

He also said, ''Our party has introduced a system where the declaration has to be submitted to the party president as well. Therefore, every interest will be taken care of.''

According to media reports, the Prime Minister had asked all Ministers to declare their assets and liabilities to bring transparency in the Government.

He had also reportedly asked them to dissociate themselves from businesses needing government permits and not to join or start any business.

Pranab 'Da' is the 'sea anchor' of Central govt: Ansari

New Delhi, Feb 3 (UNI) Praising him to the skies, Vice President Mohd Hamid Ansari today called Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the best consensus builder who is a critical part of good governance.

''Mr Mukherjee has the ability to make complex situations easier, come out with solutions acceptable to all and most importantly, build consensus around various situations,'' Dr Ansari said.

Calling the Minister as Pranab 'Da', the Vice President said Mr Mukherjee was the 'sea anchor' of the government.

He was speaking while releasing a coffee table book 'Pranab Mukherjee: The All Season Man', here at the 19th New Delhi World Book Fair. The book has been written to pay tribute to the leader on his successful completion of 75 years last December.

The Finance Minister, who was also present on the occasion, congratulated the editor and his colleagues for bringing out such a book. ''I hope people would like the book leading to satisfaction to me, the compiler and others,'' he said.

The book is a compilation of first person accounts, memoirs and thoughts by different eminent personalities from different walks of life.

People like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, Indian skippers Kapil Dev, Mohd Azharuddin, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty,
pop music maestro Bappi Lahiri, business tycoons S K Birla, R P Goenka, among others, have contributed their thoughts on the minister in the book, editor of the book Sukhendu Sekhar Ray said.

The book is priced at Rs 1500 and published by Deep Prakashan, a Kolkata based publishing house.

Mr Tharoor was also present on the occasion.

'Jahan-e-Rumi' portraying Sufi mystic's life enters World Book Fair

New Delhi, Feb 2 (UNI) Opening up the treasure of mysticism of Sufi saint Rumi for Urdu readers, a book on the great poet's life was released by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting here today.

Written by Mirza Abdul Baqi Baig, a doctrate from the Jawahar Lal Nehru University, the book, ''Jahan-e-Rumi'', encompasses life history of saint Rumi.

''The book has beautifully mentioned about the spiritual journey Maulana Rumi traversed and his contributions to the humanity,'' Madhukar Upadhyaya, renowned journalist and author, said after releasing the book at the ongoing New Delhi World Book Fair.

Comparing the saint's writings with the Darwin's Theory of Evolution, he said, ''The Sufi mysticism the Persian poet had putforth, continues to have a universal appeal even today.''

The writer of the book emphasised that it was the ongoing demand by the Urdu readers which made him write the book in this language.

Talking about the saint, Mirza Baig said Rumi was the descriptive name of Maulana Jalaluddin Mohammad, who was the 13th century poet, jurist, theologian, along with a great Sufi mystic.

He informed that it was the second book till now on the life of the philosopher. Earlier, writer of Sufi literature Trinath Mishra, who was also present on the occasion, had written about the saint in Hindi.

A symposium on the subject, ''Bhartiya Sanskriti Mein Sufi Mat Aur Rahasyawadi Parampara ka Yogdan'' (Contribution of Sufism and the Syncretic tradition to Indian Culture) was also organised after the book release ceremony.

Along with Mr Upadhyaya and Mr Mishra, senior Urdu scholar Siddiqurrahman Kidwai and Director of Publications Division Neeta Prasad with other officials of the Ministry participated in the discussion.

19th New Delhi World Book Fair to highlight Reading on Commonwealth

New Delhi, Jan 28 (UNI) The 19th New Delhi World Book Fair is all set to begin on January 30 with ''Reading our Commonwealth'' as its theme this year.

With nearly 2400 stalls and stands representing nearly 1200 Indian and foreign publishers and exhibitors, the biennial fair is organised by the National Book Trust here and this year, they will be focussing on Commonwealth Games ahead of the national capital holding the same in October.

''It is an attempt to find a connection between the world of books with that of sports through the theme this year -- Reading our Commonwealth: An International Rights Exhibition of Books on Sports,'' Chairman of National Book Trust Bipan Chandra told mediapersons here.

Nearly 700 titles published by around 75 publishers across the country on different genres of sports will be exhibited at the theme pavilion, he said.

''A special International Rights Catalogue, with bibliographic and copyright details of more than 550 titles, based on this exhibition has also been brought out and it will be released on the inuagural day,'' Mr Chandra informed.

The fair, to continue till February 7 at Pragati Maidan, will be inaugurated by Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal. Eminent historian Prof Irfan Habib will grace the occasion as the Chief Guest while Dean of School of Humanities and Education, North Eastern Hill University Prof Temsula Ao will
preside over the function.

Mr Chandra expressed concern over the fact that this book fair was the only one to be held once in two years. ''We have requested the HRD Ministry several times that it should be held every year. For that, it is necessary for them to increase our minimum grant to at least Rs 18-19 crore,'' he said.

Spread over an area of 42,000 sq meters, the fair will have different stalls for both Hindi and English language publishers and distributors, Science and Technology books publishers, foreign participants, educational book publishers, Social Sciences and Humanities books publishers, Indian regional language publishers, children's books, and others.

Speaking more about the theme pavilion, NBT Director Nuzhat Hassan said the theme pavilion would house children and youth pavilions also and various interactive sessions would be organised with some eminent sports personalities like star athlete Milkha Singh, badminton topshot P Gopichand, to name a few.

Some classical documentaries on sports events and adventure sports produced by the Films Division will be screened at the pavilion, along with many workshops, quiz competitions and storytelling sessions, she added.

''Altogether 33 programmes have been scheduled by various agencies including NGOs and schools,'' she noted.

Ms Hassan further said a special exhibit of books on and by Jawaharlal Nehru to showcase his contribution to the world of books has also been organised at the fair.

The fair will also have three special areas where people are invited to hold any kind of a programme related to books of their choice.

Referring to Pakistan as one of the participants, she said many private publishers from the neighbouring country would be exhibiting in the fair. ''However, the country's national book body, National Book Foundation, denied yesterday,'' she said.

On being asked about the reason, she said, ''We do not know.''

About the entry tickets to the fair, she said students in school uniform accompanied by their teachers would be given a free entry to the fair. Else, the ticket remains Rs 20 per adult and Rs 10 per child for others.

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KASHMIR TIMES

Pak's Natl Book Foundation cancels participation in Book Fair

New Delhi, Jan 28 (UNI) The IPL fiasco has also cast its long shadow over the New Delhi World Book Fair to be held here from January 30 as the National Book Foundation of Pakistan backtracked from its participation in the nine-day event.

The decision comes hard on the heels of the neigbour country's Chief Election Commissioner and a parliamentary delegation cancelling their visits to India recently.

National Book Trust Director Nuzhat Hassan told mediapersons here today that the Foundation, based in Islamabad, had declined to attend the fair yesterday itself.

''We are disappointed over this. However, there are other private publishers from the country who contacted us directly and will be exhibiting at the fair,'' she said.

On being asked about any particular reason, she replied in negative.

With nearly 2,400 stalls and stands representing nearly 1,200 Indian and foreign publishers and exhibitors, the biennial fair is organised by the National Book Trust here.

A Pakistani parliamentary delegation had cancelled a visit to India a week before after none of the country's cricketers were chosen to play in the the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in March.

Pakistan's cricketers played in the first IPL tournament in 2008, but were not allowed by Islamabad to travel last year due to the tensions after the Mumbai terror attacks.