The Chinar Book Festival offers visitors a treasure trove of literary delights, focusing on a wide range of genres including graphic novels, fiction, romance, drama and Sufi literature.
From young children immersing themselves in picture books to eager students delving into fiction and young people discovering well-known international and local authors such as Kahlil Gibran and Khaled Hosseini, the festival has something for every literature lover.
The festival provides readers with an invaluable opportunity to explore the rich cultural heritage of Jammu and Kashmir through a diverse collection of literary works including poems, dictionaries and Sufi poems by eminent Kashmiri writers. The event was also marked by a growing interest from students seeking academic resources for various competitive examinations with a focus on career-oriented and academic materials.
Many queue up to buy books for job-oriented exams like GATE, NEET, JEE, NDA, CUET, Banking and UPSC. Dr Yogesh Chandana, a Vedic Mathematics expert from Haryana, said, “We are getting very positive feedback from students who want to learn Vedic Mathematics.” There is also a stall selling washable and reusable books in English, Urdu, Mathematics, etc.
On the literary stage, Chinar spoke about Kashmiri architecture, art and crafts. Veer Munshi, a renowned Kashmiri artist, said, “We have to adapt to the changing times but we also have to preserve our traditional art and architecture which is the identity of Kashmir. Change means adding new things to the design of your art like paper weaving and not ending art like paper weaving due to modernity.”
In another session, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Kashmir, Prof. Arifa Bushra discussed the role of books in the intellectual development of children and the need for formation of self-help groups within the family.
In the children’s corner, the workshop on emotional intelligence and conversation skills was a success with the young visitors, who actively participated in the session.
A range of exciting activities have been put together, including storytelling sessions, workshops and musical performances, creating a magical environment for the exchange of ideas and creativity.
The festival promises an exciting programme of events, including puppetry and letter writing workshops for children, and insightful discussions on the great poets and writers of Kashmir. Tomorrow at Chinar Talks, film greats Aswath Bhatt, Mir Sarwar, Hussein Khan and Mushtaq Ali will be in the spotlight in a session moderated by RJ Vijdan on ‘Lights, Camera, Kashmir: Exploring Theatre and Acting as Career Paths’. In addition, Shadaj Band will perform live on the Cultural Stage.