Latest news with #BookFair
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
The AIADMK defends its role in Keeladi excavations, wants politics out of the issue
The AIADMK has defended its role in the Keeladi excavations when it was in power. It also accused the ruling DMK of 'indulging only in politics' on the issue. On Wednesday, the main Opposition party, long criticised for being silent on the issue, claimed credit for the Keeladi excavations during April-August 2018. Puratchi Thalaivi Peravai secretary and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R.B. Udhayakumar made these remarks in a statement. The next day, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin attacked the AIADMK for 'maintaining silence'. On Friday, the party fielded deputy propaganda secretary K. Pandiarajan, who was the Minister for Tamil Language and Culture and Archaeology during 2017-21, to explain to the media the AIADMK government's record in archaeology in general and Keeladi in particular. The former Minister pointed out that the average annual allocation for the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) was hardly ₹2 crore once. This went up to ₹105 crore, including the Centre government's share. Touching upon the archaeological work at Adichanallur in Thoothukudi district, he said that it was Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami who got the Union government to sanction the establishment of a site museum (which is being built at a cost of ₹17 crore). Litigation before Madurai Bench Tracing the origin of the Keeladi controversy, Mr. Pandiarajan recalled that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had, at one stage, decided not to pursue the project further. Jayalalithaa was the Chief Minister then, and she decided that the State government would step in if the Centre walked out. So, the AIADMK government applied to the Central government for approval, even as litigation was pending before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. Later, the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology (CABA) permitted the TNSDA to conduct excavations, which were done in stages. The reports were submitted to the Union government. At the 2019 Book Fair in Chennai, Mr. Palaniswami released the first report. When the ASI did the work in Keeladi, it confined itself to a few acres of land. But when the TNSDA stepped in, about 100 acres was acquired. It was from the Beta Analytic Testing Laboratory, Miami, Florida, U.S., that the dating report was obtained for the Keeladi findings, the former Minister said, adding that the proposal for a site museum at Keeladi was approved when Mr. Palaniswami was the Chief Minister. 'Culture of sticking posters' Acknowledging that the TNSDA was created in the late 1960s when the DMK was in power, Mr. Pandiarajan, however, said that of a total of 39 excavations done so far, 33 were carried out when the AIADMK was in power. But the DMK government wanted to 'take credit for all the work' done by the AIADMK government. 'This is the height of the culture of sticking posters [on what the previous government had achieved],' Mr. Pandiarajan said, wondering how much the ruling DMK had allocated for the Keeladi excavations and whether those who were agitating on the issue had read the reports produced by the AIADMK government. It was for ASI official Amarnath Ramakrishna to clarify the points raised by the ASI on the Keeladi excavations, and there was no room here for politics, Mr. Pandiarajan said, adding that the ASI did not question the antiquity of the Keeladi civilisation but raised some questions based on the reports submitted by the State government when the AIADMK was in power. A 'blatant lie' Speaking to reporters at Anna Arivalayam, DMK MLA N. Ezhilan said the Edappadi Palaniswami-led AIADMK government started the Keeladi excavationS based only on a Supreme Court verdict. He said the AIADMK government allocated funds only for two excavations: ₹5 lakh for Pattaraiperumpudur in Tiruvallur district and ₹55 lakh for Keeladi. He termed the AIADMK's claim of allocation of ₹105 crore a 'blatant lie'.
Malay Mail
04-06-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
How reading physical books beats screen-reading
JUNE 4 — Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim called on Malaysians to strengthen the nation's reading culture, stressing that knowledge is essential to national progress. He also said that books are a source of true knowledge, not social media. That kind of struck home for me because I totally know the feeling. Last year, with all the hype about The Three-Body Problem on Netflix, I decided to buy Cixin Liu's first book of his trilogy. When I shared a photo of the book on WhatsApp, I was duly reminded of how rare a species I seem to be. At least two of my friends said they quit buying physical books and only read books on Kindle or download them to read on their devices. Now I'm perfectly cool with that. At least people are still reading monographs instead of merely FB comments. But I must say that the gradual (?) and eventual (?) fading away of physical books irks me to no end. The situation is even more pronounced when it comes to non-fiction. At my university where I've been working almost three years, I swear I have not seen a single physical textbook being held by any student. A staff member arranges books at the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair 2025 at the World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur May 25, 2025 — Picture by Raymond Manuel This is nothing short of amazing considering how, decades ago, folks like me used to queue up at the college library to reserve books on the Required Reading list. Ergo, textbooks in the past were as critically important as water, today they're as non-essential as phone booths! Yes yes yes, no doubt 100 per cent e-books are more convenient to 'transport', you can store a million titles in just one device, you can perform those magical word searches, you can copy and paste tons of words and, of course, many of these can be obtained free (but don't ask me how). But physical books still have a wonder about them. There is something inexplicably delightful about holding Colleen Hoover's It Starts With Us in your hands, no matter how cheesy its cover. A physical book 'takes up space' (in a good way!) in your life and schedule in a way that a PDF cannot; every bookworm reading this knows that feeling of proudly taking a photo of your paperback next to your latte in Starbucks. Hey, if you're gonna show off what you're reading, there is nothing — absolutely nothing — compared to sharing a photo of a page from Neil Gaiman's Twice Cursed to your friends, is there? And no word search can beat the joy of flipping back and forth through, say, Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow trying to find that reference on anchoring bias or loss aversion. Or peeling away the price tag and cleaning the 'sticky' area so the entire back cover looks nice. Or nonchalantly glancing at the inside flaps right after finishing chapter 3. Or removing the dust jacket of a hardcover book so it doesn't get damaged from the frequent flipping; and enjoying the touch (and smell!) of the now 'naked' book. Or inserting a pretty book-mark, before later removing it and repurposing it as a marker because otherwise it's so damn hard to focus on Paul Lynch's Prophet Song. Those tactile sensations are, to many people, not a trivial thing. It can be the difference between scrolling through your phone and, uh, staring at your phone whilst your friend scrolls through it for you. Nobody would be caught dead wanting the latter experience even though you're 'seeing the same thing'. A physical book thus playfully reminds us that a work of writing extends beyond the sum of its words i.e. the 'packaging' or 'container' of said words can matter. One problem with reading PDFS is that such books, existing ethereally as they do in one's laptop or iPad, sometimes give the impression you haven't fully read the book. That's why some friends I know end up buying the physical book if they enjoyed the Kindle version; just to actually 'own' the product. In a world already dominated by screens, it's worth bearing in mind that realia still has its unique privileges. The written word, printed in real ink and bound with real glue and between real covers, remains a source of much enjoyment which PDFs can't hold a candle to.
South China Morning Post
27-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Fiba 3x3 World Tour Hong Kong to be held away from Victoria Park for first time
The Fiba 3x3 basketball World Tour Hong Kong will be held away from Victoria Park for the first time this summer, the organisers said on Tuesday. Advertisement Scheduled to run from July 19 to 20, the event will move indoors to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. With Victoria Park hosting the beach volleyball at the National Games later this year, sources told the Post a move away from Causeway Bay was 'inevitable' for the 3x3 event, which has been held annually in Hong Kong since 2022. Victoria Park has been its usual venue and was also the site for the qualifying tournament in April last year for the Paris Olympics. 'We usually host the event in November, but Hong Kong co-hosting the National Games [with Guangdong and Macau] around that time this year meant the schedule was out of the question this time,' the source said. Fiba 3x3 World Tour hopes to ride on the popularity of the Hong Kong Book Fair. Photo: Jonathan Wong Instead Fiba 3x3 World Tour Hong Kong will run concurrently with the Hong Kong Book Fair – the Hong Kong Trade Development Council's signature event – which runs from July 16 to 22 and attracted almost one million visitors last year.
Mail & Guardian
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mail & Guardian
Calling all birds of a feather to bookmark together at this year's Kingsmead Book Fair
Kingsmead College will host the 13th annual Book Fair on Saturday, 24 May 2025 in association with Standard Bank – Wealth and Investment, Exclusive Books and Media Partner Hot 102.7. The event takes place at the Kingsmead College campus in Melrose, Johannesburg from 09h00 – 18h00. The Kingsmead Book Fair is more than just a marketplace for books – it's a space where people flock together to share stories, build community, explore new ideas, and celebrate creativity. A place where people unite, captivated by the magic of books, immersed in the joy of reading and the beauty of literature. As a school we are passionate about reading and it is so important that our students are exposed to books, authors – in particular African authors – and good reading habits. 'We are excited about the authors on our programme and being able to expose the community to rich and varied topics and sessions. We hope that this year's programme provides an opportunity to engage with new authors and genres or merely come together to spend time soaking up the literary atmosphere.' says Alex Bouche, the Director of the Kingsmead Book Fair. The diverse programme includes more than 140 authors participating in over 80 sessions throughout the day on the adult, young adult, and children's programmes. In addition, we have run our Young Writers' Competition for the fourth year. We received a staggering number of entries. Encouraging a culture of reading and writing, the competition is open to all school children aged 6 – 18. Launched in 2022, the writing competition aims to provide a platform for young writers' skills and a space to explore different genres and styles with feedback from professional writers and publishers. With more than 80% of children in Grade 4 not being able to read for meaning, there is an urgent need for reading and writing to be given more attention. This year's theme calls on young writers to submit an original creative short story inspired by one of these linked words: Seeds, Roots, Bloom, Grow. Prizes for the winning entry in each age group include a cash prize, book voucher and feedback from the judges. Winners will be announced on 21 May 2025. Kingsmead Book Fair has a strong social responsibility ethos. As such, one of the aims of the Kingsmead Book Fair's outreach programme is to offer entrance and session tickets to various organisations and reading groups that otherwise might not have the means to attend. In addition, the school holds a book drive in the weeks leading up to the event where gently loved books are donated and then distributed to our various community partners. All proceeds from the event go towards the Kingsmead Trust. There are currently 60 bright young women benefiting from an excellent education in the Senior School. The bursaries constitute 100% of their school fees, uniforms, daily lunch and tour subsidies. We hope that this year's programme gives a place for readers to unite, wonder to bloom and stories to flourish. We invite all birds of a feather to bookmark together with us on 24 May and enjoy in-depth discussion and heated debate mixed with some exceptional company, good food and drink, not to mention buying your next book at the Exclusive Books pop-up. Situated in the hub of Johannesburg's business centre with convenient transport links, Kingsmead College is ideally positioned to draw people from nearby towns and suburbs. The school has fantastic venues in which to hold the sessions, all close to each other. All in all, it is a day on South Africa's literary calendar that is not to be missed. Tickets on sale via and more information via our website –
Al-Ahram Weekly
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
African books come to Paris - Culture - Al-Ahram Weekly
The crowds turned out in force this year for the Paris African Book Fair, where Cameroon and African Brazil were the guests of honour. Now on its fourth edition, but held in a new location, the Paris African Book Fair has established itself as an unmissable event on the French literary calendar and one of the only opportunities that many people in France may have to learn about publications in French produced across the African continent and the Africa lists of French publishers. Held in its new location of the Halle des Blancs Manteaux in the French capital's 4th district over three days from 15 to 16 March, the Book Fair this year may have benefitted from its new and prestigious venue. Previously it was held in the bland surroundings of the nearby town hall of the same district, but this year it moved to the heart of the historic Marais, an area famous for its winding mediaeval streets, art galleries, and high-end boutiques. The crowds at the Fair this year may well have been increased by passing shoppers eager to experience a part of the city left untouched by rebuilding. They may also have been attracted by the Halle des Blancs Manteaux itself, a 19th-century structure originally built to host clothing markets rather like the better-known Carreau du Temple nearby, an early iron and glass structure now renovated and used to host fashion shows and other similar events. The Halle des Blancs Manteaux, the Carreau du Temple, and the whole of the Marais district are important parts of the French capital's history and its present built environment, and it is always a pleasure to look inside these buildings and explore the area of which they are a part. Arriving at the Book Fair on its third and final day, the Al-Ahram Weekly found the crowds already very much in evidence, with people milling around in the Halle des Blancs Manteaux to inspect the stands of the African and French publishers present and queueing up near the stairs taking visitors to a mezzanine level where space had been found for a programme of discussions and meetings. These discussions, very well-attended, covered an impressive range of subjects, with some related directly to the countries that were guests of honour at the Fair this year and others broaching more general topics related to publishing books in francophone Africa. The programme saw sessions on the 'promotion of books in Cameroon' and 'the distribution of books in Cameroon in the digital age' on the first day of the Fair, for example, as well as others on more general subjects. Some of these will doubtless have spoken directly to many attendees at the Fair, such as those on 'Senegalese letters in the Diaspora,' moderated by the Senegalese winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt for fiction in 2021, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, the 'Diasporas and the renovation of Pan-Africanism,' and several sessions on 'Francafrique,' shorthand for the legacies of French colonialism in Africa and present-day struggles for restitution and recognition. French publishers with significant African lists were present at the Fair, along with smaller ones specialising in African history, literature, and politics. The major French publisher Gallimard had sent along books from its prestigious Continents Noirs series of writing by francophone Sub-Saharan African writers, for example, along with piles of other books from its other imprints written by or about African writers. Continents Noirs, set up by editorial director Antoine Gallimard in 2000, now hosts work by some 50 contemporary Sub-Saharan African writers writing in French and is designed to introduce the wider French-speaking public to 'African, Afro-European, and Diaspora literature and its authors.' This is the imprint's 25th anniversary year, and if the Gallimard stand at the African Book Fair is anything to go by, it is going from strength to strength, with the immediately recognisable tan covers of the Continents Noirs series providing hospitable livery for African writers eager to break into the mainstream French market. While Gallimard was the only major mainstream French publisher present, well-known specialised ones were out in force, with Présence africaine, Karthala, and l'Harmattan all sending extensive stands. All three of these publishers, well-known to anyone reading about African affairs or the developing world in French, have extensive lists on Sub-Saharan Africa and have long played an important role in introducing works on or by African writers to French-speaking readers and, probably just as importantly, keeping them in print. Présence africaine had bagged a prominent location for its stand at this year's Fair, acting as a kind of focal point for people entering the building. Originally set up as a magazine by the Senegalese writer Alioune Diop in 1947 and intended to publish the works of the first generations of francophone African writers along with works on the history, politics, and sociology of African and African Diaspora societies, the review became a publishing house in 1949 with the support of some of the period's most important French, African, and Caribbean and Diaspora intellectuals. These included the Martinican writer Aimé Césaire, the Senegalese poet and future President Léopold Sédar Senghor, the Americans Richard Wright and James Baldwin, and the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Looking through Présence africaine's books today, one finds classics by Senegalese writer Cheikh Anta Diop on Sub-Saharan African history, along with translated works by former Ghanian President and theorist of pan-Africanism Kwame Nkrumah and historian of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans Eric Williams. Mohamed Mbougar Sarr was on hand to sign copies of his books at Présence africaine on the second day of the Fair, among them his Goncourt Prize-winning La plus secrète mémoire des hommes published by Livre de Poche. Sub-Saharan and North Africa: While the Fair does not focus on the Arab countries in which French is spoken as a second language, such as the Arab Maghreb countries and Syria and Lebanon, it does not ignore them either. The Arab Maghreb countries of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria make up the whole of West Africa north of the Sahara, and so even though the African Book Fair is mostly about the Sub-Saharan African publishing scene, this year's event like earlier ones saw important contributions from francophone Maghreb publishers. Francophone publisher Casbah Editions was in evidence from Algeria, and on the day the Weekly visited was organising two signing sessions by its authors, Ahmed Hanafi of his novel Traversées périlleuses du miroir and Meryem Belkaid of her novel Ecris, et je viendrai. Francophone Algerian publisher Editions Frantz Fanon, named after the Martinican psychologist Frantz Fanon who played a significant role in the Algerian War of Independence against France, also had a stand at the Fair. Among the books it was displaying was Algerian author Hedia Bensahli's L'Algérie juive, a history of the Jewish communities that until the middle of the last century or so used to live in Algeria. There were various smaller publishers from Morocco, though none, unfortunately, from Tunisia. French publishers Karthala and l'Harmattan had sent along extensive stands, with both these publishers putting out dozens of books on Africa and by African writers each year in literature, history, and politics. Both had organised signing sessions for several of their authors on the day the Weekly visited. As is so often the case with events of this sort, so extensive was the Book Fair's programme of meetings and discussions that it was not possible to attend more than a handful of those on offer. Several events caught the eye on the second day of the Fair, for example, among them a discussion with Jean Khalfa, co-editor of Frantz Fanon, écrits sur l'aliénation et la liberté, a collection of Fanon's hitherto uncollected writings which when it appeared in 2018 was hailed as nothing less than a publishing event. There were also discussions with former French Minister of Equal Opportunities Azouz Begag on relations between France and Algeria and between Administrator of the Chair of African Arts and Literatures at the Académie royale du Maroc Eugène Ebodé and Professor at the Université Mohamed VI in Morocco Raphael Liogier on African politics on the same day, together with the award of this year's Grand Prix Afrique. This was awarded to Cameroonian novelist Hemley Boum for her novel Le Rêve de pecheur, which examines the relationship between post-colonial Cameroon and contemporary France through the memories of individuals from three different generations. Boum was one of the speakers at a discussion attended by the Weekly on the 'founders and foundations of Cameroonian literature' that also saw contributions from Eugène Ebodé, this time by virtue of his recent novel Zam Zam, Gaston Paul Effa, author of L'enfant que tu as été marche à côté de toi, Romauld Fonkua, author of Poésie des francophones, états des lieux, and Boniface Mongo M'Boussa, author of Désir d'Afrique. Boum spoke interestingly about the role played by the founders of modern Cameroonian literature, notably the novelist Mongo Beti (1932-2001), recognised as one of the most important francophone African writers of the independence generation. Beti had helped to create a common Cameroonian identity, Boum said, uniting the country around perceptions of a common history and a common struggle, and for this reason alone it was no surprise to find his works being taught to the younger generations in Cameroonian schools. Beti, like his contemporary Ferdinand Oyono (1929-2010), had been able to build Cameroonian identity through fiction and particularly through autobiography, allowing his story to stand in for those of others when trying to capture the historical experience of the country. His early novel Ville cruelle, written when he was in his early twenties, captures his childhood, school, and village and the contrast between village life and life in the city in a way that 'for the first time gave me the impression that something had been written about my country from within,' Boum said. For Gaston Paul Effa, describing how he came to write fiction, it was important to recognise the contributions of the founding generation, as well as to reconnect with the heritage of older generations in later years. Born in Cameroon, it was only when he moved to Strasbourg in France at the age of 16 that he really discovered the country, he said, later returning for a decade to explore its traditions as a way of 'returning to things that we have forgotten.' A final session attended by the Weekly at this year's Fair was on 'artistic resistance' and saw contributions from Carine Bahanag, author of Danser au féminin en Afrique, Angelo Dan, Ambassador of the West African country of Benin in France and author of La restitution de biens culturels entre la France et le Bénin, and Veronique Kanor, an activist and poet. Bahanag spoke interestingly about the research she had done for her book on the tradition of women's dancing in Cameroon, which despite the role it plays in building female solidarity has apparently only been researched and written about by men. Dan spoke about his role in the negotiations for the return of material looted from Benin during the French colonial period in 2021, a process described in his book on the subject, and Kanor spoke about her work as a poet and activist, designed to draw attention to the injustices suffered by African women immigrants in France. * A version of this article appears in print in the 15 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
