New Delhi: The government-aided National Book Foundation of Pakistan may have pulled out of the 19th New Delhi World Book Fair at the last moment, but the other stalls of Pakistani publishers who are here are a big hit among the crowds.
Showcasing a range of books on feminism, women and Islam, Benazir Bhutto and poetry, the two Pakistani stalls - of Kitab Bhawan and Iqbal Academy Pakistan - drew many visitors at the fair that began Saturday.
Flipping through a book "Believing women in Islam" by author Asma Barlas at the Kitab Bhawan stall, Nayan Sharma said: "I was quite surprised to see this book here. Call it pre-conceived notion or whatever, I somehow didn't expect to see a book on an issue like feminism in the Pakistan stall."
"The media keeps highlighting how women are mistreated in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan. But this book - whose tagline is 'Unreading patriarchal interpretations in the Quran' - gives a different perspective and it should make for an interesting read," Sharma, a student of Delhi University, told IANS.
Saira Bano of the Kitab Bhawan said their books on women and Islam had attracted a lot of attention.
"We must have sold around 300 books in the past two days and most of them were on feminism. Benazir Bhutto's biography has also been popular," Bano told IANS.
Said Raina Dey, a homemaker visiting the fair: "I wanted to read about Benazir Bhutto and was pleased to find many options in the fair. Besides her biography, I also picked up this book called "The Holy Bull" whose foreword was written by Benazir."
Irshad ul Mujeeb Sheikh, assistant director of the government-aided Iqbal Academy Pakistan, similarly said that their books have seen a good sale over the past two days. Their books focus on promoting the work of poet and philosopher, Allama Iqbal.
"We have sold around 500 books in the past two days. The response over the weekend has been satisfactory," Sheikh said.
A total of 1,200 Indian and foreign publishers are participating in the biennial fair this time. Country-wise, there are 15 countries which have participated in the fair that culminates Feb 7.
The National Book Foundation of Pakistan had pulled out of the fair Jan 27 and the organisers said no particular reason had been cited.
