The fifth edition of the Mugavai Sangamam Book Fair started on Thursday, February 9, at Raja school ground in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district. The district administration, along with the literary forum Kalai Ilakkiya Arvalargal Sangam, is holding the book fair to attract young readers and promote reading habits among them. The book fair ends on February 19. Mugavai is an ancient name for the district and it refers to the place where people from across the region brought their paddy produce for sale in the Sangam era. Now, the Mugavai book fair is the place where people come together to donate books to school and Panchayat libraries. The last edition of the book fair was held in 2015.
In an effort to encourage the youth to cultivate reading habits, the district administration ran a month-long campaign that involved heritage walks and mass reading at Panchayat levels. On January 20, the mascot and logo for the book fair were launched by Ramanathapuram district collector Johny Tom Varghese in the Abdul Kalam Memorial Hall in Pei Karumbu, Rameswaram. The Dugong, an elusive marine mammal that is a significant species in the Gulf of Mannar, is the mascot of the book fair. More than 200 students from across the district participated in the launch and were given books.
Students from different schools and colleges were taken to the Karankadu eco-tourism spot in Thondi and to the Krusadai Island for heritage walks. More than 100 students participated in the walks and learned about the local ecosystem and biosphere of the coastal district. Rajaguru, a historian and school teacher who facilitated the heritage walk, helped the students understand the history of Ramanathapuram through manuscripts and inscriptions that were found in the district.
Steps to engage people in reading don't stop with the book fair. A mobile library—a bus filled with books—will travel the district all year round, stopping at schools, colleges, towns, and villages for people to read. The bus for this purpose was donated by the Mohamed Sathak Educational Institute. Until the book fair is over, the mobile library can be accessed by the public visiting the book fair.
Students with Dugong mascot at Mugavai Sangamam
More than eight different kinds of workshops are being conducted in the book fair, in which students and the general public can participate. Each workshop will have 50 participants, and they can learn origami, palm-frond-crafts, cartoons, Tamizhi script writing, and storytelling skills. Along with 100 book stalls, several departments of the Tamil Nadu government have put up stalls at the book fair to raise awareness about social issues. One of the stalls put up in the book fair aims to educate the public about domestic violence, abuse, and women's safety.
Students participating in Heritage Walk to Krusadai Island
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