Daily Times

The recently concluded book fair at Government Atta Shad Degree College Turbat discarded the myth that book reading culture is dying in the age of social media. The three-day fair from 11 to 13 November drew a large number of crowds from all walks of life including children, students, teachers, doctors, engineers, politicians and members of civil society who visited different stalls to browse and buy their favourite titles. Various local and national publishers in thirteen stalls displayed their books covering a wide range of subjects including literature, politics, history, culture, science and religion to mention a few here. Some of these publishers include Fiction House, Ilm o Adab Publisher, Chammag, Isteen, Gidaar, Badalti Dunya and Sayad Reference Library.

The book fair was a part of the college’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations. It was established in 1969 as an intermediate college in the building of High School Turbat and later it was shifted to its newly constructed building. In 1974 it was upgraded to a degree college. In 1998, acknowledging the meritorious services he rendered in the field of Balochi literature, the college was named after the literary giant Atta Shad. Today, it is one of the biggest colleges of Balochistan in terms of student-enrolment.

The book fair was inaugurated by Professor Maqbool Zafar who served as a lecturer at this college from 1978 to 1983. He flew in from Karachi to participate in the celebrations. The principal of Atta Shad Degree College, Turbat Professor Dr Wahid Bakhsh said, “The primary aim of the book fair is to inculcate the love for books in young generation in the age of Facebook and Instagram.” He further added that Atta Shad Degree College will continue its efforts to promote the reading culture in future as well.

The book fair was inaugurated by Professor Maqbool Zafar who served as a lecturer at this college from 1978 to 1983. He flew in from Karachi to participate in the celebrations. The principal of Atta Shad Degree College, Turbat Professor Dr Wahid Bakhsh said, ‘The primary aim of the book fair is to inculcate the love for books in young generation in the age of Facebook and Instagram’

The booksellers and publishers were quite happy with the turn out they had had during the fair. The centre of gravity was Shabir Shakir’s stall. Visitors particularly came to see the young man. He came from Pishukan, a coastal town, 45 kilometre from Gwadar. He is a popular book seller in the area who every day covers a distance of around 20 kilometre by foot to delivers books to people at their doors on easy loan and instalments. He shared his experience:

“When I received the invitation from the college administration, I was a bit apprehensive as to me colleges were not as big platforms as universities to pull huge crowds. Thus fewer crowds mean lesser gain. So I decided to turn down the request but at the eleventh hour I decided to participate and cultivate some sorts of experience. However book lover’s enthusiasm proved I was terribly wrong”.

Fida Ahmed a faculty member at Atta Shad Degree College Turbat and the focal person of the book fair said:

“Initially, we were expecting a sale of around 80,000 to 100,000. However, the response of the visitors was way beyond our expectations. In three days we had a sale of around 0.5 million rupees which is quite an encouraging sign”.

At the closing ceremony the principal of Government Atta Shad Degree College Turbat presented shields of acknowledgment to all publishers who contributed to make this beautiful event possible.

The writer can be reached at fazalbaloch144@gmail.com