Mumbai: 26th National Urdu Book Fair Faces Challenges Despite Enthusiastic Student Response
Discover the challenges and enthusiastic student response at the 26th National Urdu Book Fair in Mumbai, showcasing a rich collection of Urdu literature and cultural events. Despite location challenges, students are engaged, but stall owners face lower-than-expected footfall.
Although in a bid to promote Urdu literature and culture, the Central Government’s National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL)—in collaboration with Anjuman-i-Islam's Dr MIJ Girls’ High School—has organised the 26th National Urdu Book Fair in Mumbai from Jan 6 to 14 at the R2 ground, Bandra-Kurla Complex, the event faces challenges as stall owners grapple with underwhelming response, mainly because of the inconvenient location and no easy access to public transport.
Despite the enthusiastic response from students enjoying the fair, stall owners are worried about the low overall footfall.
Shahzad Alam, a stall owner, believes that the distant and hard-to-find venue is impacting the expected number of visitors.
"It is definitely hard to find this place, and most of the crowd is getting lost on their way, and the response is not what we were expecting. The business is going okay but not great”, Alam said.
"The problem also is that this generation does not like to read books and are always busy on mobile phones and the internet, so that is one of the affecting factors that not much crowd is coming here”, Zoher said.
However, he remains positive about the fair's impact on children, stating, "The business is on the sideline, but I'm just happy that some of them are here and they are buying books because we want the children to read books and develop a love for reading."
