Bibliophiles in Hyderabad can now attend the city's 33rd annual book fair, which opened its doors on Monday and will go on till January 1, 2020 at the Telangana Kala Bharati (NTR Stadium) in the city.
The Hyderabad Book Fair, which will include sessions on storytelling and writing, besides workshops on puppetry, ventriloquism and other craft forms, will also witness various art performances. It hosts 330 book stalls, including a special stall for new writers.
The book fair was inaugurated at 5 pm on Monday by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.
Speaking at the event, Tamilisai said, "I urge all of you to develop a habit of reading books. Not a single day passes without reading a book in my life.. As soon as I took over as the Governor of Telangana, I appealed to the visitors who are coming to see me, to not bring bouquets or presents but bring books instead."
Ghanta Chakrapani, Chairman of Telangana State Public Service Commission, and Telangana State Planning Board vice-chairman B. Vinod Kumar were also present at the event, besides Tourism Minister V Srinivas Goud.
Those who wish to attend the fair can do so between 2.30 pm and 8.30 pm from Monday to Friday and 12 pm to 9 pm on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.
The first Hyderabad Book Fair was held in the year 1985 at City Central Library, in the city's Ashok Nagar, with just a few publishers and booksellers.
Later on, successive book fairs were held at Nizam College Grounds, Public Gardens, Exhibition Grounds and Keshav Memorial High School Ground, according to the organisers, the Hyderabad Book Fair Society.
The event has been held at NTR stadium from the last four years.
The Hyderabad Book Fair Society has also initiated similar fairs in different districts of Telangana, like Khammam, Warangal, Karimnagar, Kothagudem, Kodad, Mahaboobnagar, Kamareddy, Wanaparthy, and other places.
The entire schedule of the book fair can be found here.