BKS-DC International Book Festival to kick off today

TDT | Manama                                                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The highly anticipated International Book Fair and Cultural Festival, jointly organised by DC Books, India’s leading book publisher, and the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam (BKS), is set to commence today at the BKS DJ hall in Segayya.

The festival promises to be a remarkable celebration of literature, culture, and art. The inauguration ceremony, scheduled for 8pm at the BKS Diamond Jubilee Hall, will be graced by the presence of esteemed guests.

“Indian Ambassador HE Vinod K. Jacob will preside as the Chief Guest, while the Director of Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), Huda Sayed Al Abdulghafar Alalawi, will be the Guest of Honour,” said BKS president PV Radhakrishna Pillai and General Secretary Varghese Karakkal in a statement.

The International Book Fair and Cultural Festival will run from November 9 to 18, offering a platform for renowned writers, cultural icons, and political activists to engage with the audience. Distinguished figures such as PS Sreedharan Pillai, MA Baby, Sagarika Ghosh, Murali Tummarukudi, Santhosh George Kulangara, V.J. James, Chef Pillai, MV Nikesh Kumar, Ravunni, and others will participate as guests on various days.

As part of the event, a diverse array of cultural and artistic programs are also scheduled throughout the festival’s duration. To cater to the literary appetite of attendees, the book fair has assembled a collection of over 100,000 books encompassing more than 5,000 titles from leading publishers in India and abroad.

These offerings span genres like stories, poetry, novels, popular books, classics, reference materials, children’s literature, dictionaries, self-help books, study aids for competitive exams, spiritual works, cookery, travelogues, biographies, autobiographies, health literature, and various Malayalam-English publications.

In addition to the literary delights, a captivating photography exhibition, organised by the BKS Photography Club, is also scheduled to start today, running in parallel with the book fair. The BKS Fine Arts Club has arranged a community painting event planned to commence at 3pm on Friday. Over 100 participants, including prominent artists and painters from Bahrain, will collaborate under the theme “Art for Peace.”