Lt Governor Ladakh inaugurates NBT-India’s Ladakh 5 days Book Festival 

Lt Governor Ladakh inaugurates NBT-India’s Ladakh 5 days Book Festival 

Leh, July 12: Brig. B.D. Mishra, Lt. Governor of Ladakh inaugurated the Book Festival which is being organised by National Book Trust, India (under the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India) in association with the UT Administration of Ladakh.

The Book Festival is being held from July 12-16 at the New Multipurpose Indoor Stadium (NDS Memorial Sports Ground), Leh.

Speaking at the inaugural event, Lt. Governor appreciated NBT-India for organising the first-of-its-kind Book festival on such a large scale and expressed happiness at the vast number of books available at the festival for all sections of the society. He was impressed by the range of books displayed by all publishers, especially the books in all languages by NBT-India. Further, he urged the Ladakhis to visit the book festival and make the most of it.

Addressing the gathering at the inaugural session, CEC, LAHDC, Advocate Tyashi Gyalson expressed his gratitude to the National Book Trust, India for this initiative and also the UT Administration for supporting it. He also said that opportunities, like the Ladakh Book Festival will provide support to budding writers and young readers from Ladakh.

The inaugural session also saw the presence of two eminent authors from Leh and Kargil. Jamyang Gyaltsan expressed that the festival will encourage and broaden the horizons of young readers who are enthusiastic about books and literature and will also help the new local writers and promote dialects of Ladakh to the whole country. Mohd. Sadiq Hardassi talked about the difference between reading printed books and digital ones and was hopeful that the festival would be an enriching experience for all of them.

The festival aims to provide a platform for bringing Ladakhi Literature, Arts, and Culture to the forefront of discourse at the National and International platforms through its digital outreach program where all the discussions will be made Live across various platforms pan India.

Discussions include the strategic importance of Ladakh in global geopolitical scenarios, climatic and environmental aspects, and ancient stories whispering through mountains and high passes which shaped the course of India as a nation. It also discusses ideas of bringing best of the literature, folklore, poetry developed around the Indus from Leh, Kargil, and Gilgit-Baltistan regions to the National forum.

The inaugural session was followed by storytelling sessions and interactive activities for children. This was followed by literary sessions on literature, environment, and history by various eminent speakers. Interactive storytelling sessions and stimulating workshops are being held for young readers during the entire duration of the festival.

Apart from the main venue, a host of activities and events are also being organised all across the city of Leh, including reading and storytelling sessions, musical performances, art and craft activities.

A three-day translation workshop in Hindi to Bhoti language will also be organised on the sidelines of the book festival to foster greater translation of local literature, facilitating wider access to the literary treasures of Ladakh. In addition, there will be an interactive session between PM YUVA authors and the budding authors of Ladakh, so that the experiences and skills are shared with aspiring writers from the region so that more and more youth can join the PM YUVA Scheme and have their works published from National Book Trust India. The PM YUVA Scheme for Young Authors encourages young scribes from the nation in building a strong nation and an informed next generation.

Earlier, Prof. Govind Prasad Sharma, Chairman National Book Trust India while welcoming the guests informed that books are the only trusted medium to gain knowledge and that more book festivals will be held across the country in many other cities to position their literature and culture for the other parts of the nation.

The day ended with vibrant cultural performances.

Proposing the vote of thanks Director, National Book Trust India Yuvraj Malik talked about the various activities organised by NBT-India towards promotion of books and reading since the last 66 years.