Too often, we hear complaints about how reading has declined due to shortened attention spans in today’s fast paced world. If the optimists in us needed an evidence to the contrary, it was provided by the Pune Book Festival held in Pune between 14-22 December, 2024.
Here are some numbers to guage the size and scope of the event. The festival is in its second year and compared to last year, the book sales have increased four fold.
A record number of one million book lovers visited the festival during the week. More than 2.5 million books were sold, generating an impressive turnover of ₹400 million ($4.6 million). More than 100 new books were launched and around 1000 authors participated in the festival. Four world records were set during the event, including a sculpture of the Indian Constitution created using 97,020 books.
Organising a festival of this scope and magnitude requires in-depth planning and effective execution. The festival received generous support and guidance from the Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadanvis ji who also inaugurated the festival. The huge success of the festival is due to the tireless efforts of Chief Organizer Rajesh Pande ji, Minister of Higher Education Chandrakant Patil ji, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol ji, Chairman of National Book Trust Prof. Milind Marathe ji, Director of National Book Trust Yuvraj Malik ji, Vice-chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University Dr. Suresh Gosavi ji and many others, too numerous to list, including the young student volunteers who were extremely helpful in guiding the crowds.
PBF24 also held many parallel activities, such as discussion with authors, cultural programs in the evenings and a children’s film festival. Special visits by schools were arranged in the afternoons to engage with the children. In addition, there was also a food section where you could taste various Indian dishes after a tiring excursion through the literary landscapes.
This year will also mark the first year of the Pune Lit Festival that was held in conjunction with PBF24. I wish I could attend all the sessions; however I was fortunate that I could listen to Murlikant Petkar ji, war hero and India’s first paralympic gold medalist, for an inspiring and motivating session. The first Pune Lit Festival was for three days and looking at the great response, it’s duration is sure to increase in future.
My only regret is that I must have a missed thousands of interesting books because the sheer amount of books made it a challenging task to browse and choose. At the same time, it was heartening to see eagar crowds spending hours trying to find authors, topics and genres that will sour their imaginations.
Needless to say, I came back everyday with as much treasure as I could carry. The million dollar question now is to find the time to read all these amazing books. 🙂
And yet, two of my most prized possessions from PBF 24 were not books; however they were both related to history. The first one is a poster of a letter written by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, announcing a gift 13 villages. The letter was written in 1656 AD.
Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj fought the British and the Mughals and instilled in the peoples of Maharashtra the desire for a state free of oppression by foreign rulers. He was a model ruler and his courage and bravery are a source of inspiration for all Indians.
The second prized possession was the image of the preamble of the Constitution of India. There was a separate stall at PBF24 where one of the original copies of the Constitution of India was lept. The Constitution of India is a unique legal document that was prepared by a drafting committee of learned scholars over a 165-day period. At about 145,000 words it is the second-longest active constitution – after the constitution of Alabama – in the world. After India’s independence in 1947, many western pundits were doubtful as to the survival of India as a democracy.
Defying all odds, India has flourished as the largest democracy and at its core is its constitution, that is now 75 years old. To commemorate the adoption of Constitution of India, PM Narendra Modi ji started the tradition of observing November 26 as Constitution Day. As PM Modi ji recently stated in the Parliament of India, “The achievement of 75 years is not ordinary, it is extraordinary. India’s constitution has brought us here by defeating the possibilities that were expressed for India at the time when the country attained independence.”
Pune is the cultural capital of the state of Maharashtra and has been famous as a center of learning for well over a century. In the coming years, Pune Book Festival and Pune Lit Festival will emerge as strong indentities for the city and its people. My heartfelt gratitude to all the organisers for their tireless efforts that made these events a great success.
The women in blue are on a roll!
Indian cricket fans, stop whatever you are doing and watch the India vs West Indies women’s one-day series. India just won the T20 series 2-1.
Smriti Mandhana scored 91(102) in the first ODI and became the first female cricketer to score more than 1000 runs in single year. Before that she also scored 763 in T20 matches, making most runs in a single calendar year in the T20 format. In the third T20 match, Richa Ghosh made 50 in 18 balls, making the fastest T20 fifty by an Indian and joint-fastest overall. And she has been great behind the stumps as well. In the first ODI, Renuka Singh Thakur bowled exceptionally well to get 5-29 in 10 overs, her maiden fiver. India won the match by a record 211 runs!
The team is looking in great form – Jemimah Roudrigues, Radha Yadav, Priya Mishra. Here’s a sample – a stunning one-handed blinder by the captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
Things are looking good for the women in blue for the upcoming one-day women’s world cup in 2025!
