The Chinar Book Festival is set to take place at SKICC, Srinagar, from 17 to 25 August, 2024, through the collaborative efforts of the National Book Trust, India (Ministry of Education, Govt of India) and the District Administration Srinagar. This will be the first national book festival in the valley and will also see participation from the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL).
The Nine-day Book Fair will be held in front of the picturesque Dal Lake and will feature more than 200 stalls providing access to books in various languages including English, Urdu, Kashmiri, Hindi, Dogri, and other Indian languages. Deputy Commissioner(DC) Srinagar Dr. Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din Bhat stated that the Chinar Book Festival will be the first National Book Festival and the biggest book fair of Kashmir Valley.
DC Srinagar emphasized that there has not been any festival of such a large scale in Srinagar for a long time, hence this is a great opportunity for the people of Srinagar. Amidst the books, readers will be able to participate in various programs related to literature, art, and culture.
During the Book Fair, programs will be organized in three parts. Creative writing workshops like Calligraphy, Story Telling, Caricature, Dyeing Competition, Art Workshop, Slogan Writing Competition, Puppet Craft, Vedic Mathematics, and many other creative writing workshops will be organized for children from 10 am to 1 pm. There will also be career-oriented workshops for the youth from 2 pm to 4 pm, where they can interact with big litterateurs on art, literature, and culture.
Dr. Bilal urged the people of Srinagar to come to the Chinar Book Festival and make the festival a success. He also informed that five free buses will run from Ghantaghar to SKICC to reach the book festival.
Yuvraj Malik, Director, National Book Trust, India, mentioned that the festival is organized by the people of the Valley and for the people of the Valley. More than 200 book stalls will be present, including publications from Sahitya Akademi, Publication Department, Sangeet Natak Akademi, NCERT, National Book Trust-India, and many other private publishers.
The literary discourse at Chinar Talks will include discussions on Kashmir in Films & Literature, Poetry, and its rich heritage in performing arts by eminent scholars and artists. The Cultural Stage Kala-e-Kashmir will have performances by Rekha Bhardwaj, Noor Mohammad, Rahgir, ghazal, mushaira, and bands like Shadaj, Yugh, and J&K academy.
Through this initiative, the District Administration Srinagar and the Ministry of Education, Government of India, aim to uphold and promote the tradition of book reading. The Chinar Book Festival promises to be a grand literary event that celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Kashmir and provides a platform for literary enthusiasts to come together and immerse themselves in the world of books and literature.