The first edition of the Chinar Book Festival, which ended on August 25, 2024, was a resounding success, attracting over 125,000 readers during the nine-day event at SKICC.
Speaking on the final day of Chinar Book Festival, Dr. Bilal M Bhat, IAS Vice President, Srinagar, congratulated the people of Srinagar for celebrating the book festival, especially the children and youth who participate in e-workshops on creative writing, mathematics, artificial intelligence, book publishing, etc. Speaking about the event, he said that Chinar Book Festival is now a permanent fixture in the calendar and the city will see more writers, authors, poets and artists next year.
Yuvraj Malik, Director of the National Book Trust in India, thanked the people of Kashmir for their overwhelming support. He said, “The Chinar Book Festival evolved into a vibrant celebration of art, culture and literature, attracting students, families and book lovers from across the region. We are delighted with the remarkable response and proud of our mission to make books accessible to every reader in Kashmir.”
The festival featured over 100 creative, literary and cultural events, was heavily supported by publishers and marked a new chapter in the country’s literary landscape. Eminent personalities from various fields including writers, scientists, bureaucrats, academics, artists, filmmakers, professors and experts graced the event, underlining its importance as a key event in the literary calendar.
On the last day of the festival, a career guidance symposium was organised, focusing on opportunities in the civil services. The day also saw a discussion on Jammu and Kashmir’s rich heritage in performing arts, with contributions from Sunanda Sharma, Krishan Langoo and Pandit Abhay Rustam Sopori.
The highlight of the festival was the participation of thousands of girls who enjoyed selfies and books and enthusiastically participated in workshops on science, mathematics, art and technology. Workshops on emotional intelligence, empathy and oratory were a hit with the youth. The digital reading zone set up by the Rashtriya E Pustakalay project team of the Ministry of School Education and Literacy and a photography exhibition by the Indian Council of Historical Research on the theme ‘Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh through the ages: A visual narrative of continuity and connections’ were a major draw for the visitors.
To give priority to local languages, several storytelling sessions and book launches were organised in Kashmir and Dogri. The visitors also interacted with well-known personalities like Kashmiri folk singer Wahid Jilani and Dogri writer Shivdev Singh.
The Mahfil-e-Afsana sessions organised by the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language were attended by well-known Urdu authors Deepak Tanwal, Dr. Mushtaq Mehdi and Dr. Nazir and Kashmiri children’s author Akhtar Hussain.
At the literary stage of the book festival, visitors to ‘Chinar Talks’ also had an opportunity to meet and interact with renowned artists Veer Munshi, Ashwath Bhatt, Mir Sarwar, Hussain Khan, Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sahitya Akademi awardee Dr Ashraf Zia and Rajesh Vyas and academicians SN Pandita and Mushtaq Bashir Burke, who spoke about literary traditions and opportunities for Kashmir in literature and performing arts and the need for preservation and promotion of local art forms.
The performance by music band Kabir Café was a fitting tribute to the last day of the book festival after the lively performances by Vishal & Rekha Bhardwaj, Rahgir and other well-known artists on Saturday.
Chinar Book Festival declared a calendar event in Srinagar
