LARKANA, Nov 5: Five-day book fair held at the Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto Memorial Library concluded here on Tuesday where literature lovers thronged to buy books, being sold at a 50 per cent discount, which were mostly sold out in the first three days.

The exhibition, originally planned to be a three-day fair but extended because of the enthusiastic response of people, was jointly organised by the Sindh culture department, Sindhi Language Authority, Sindhi Adabi Board and Naon Niyapo Publications. Books published by all four bodies were put on sale.

There was a variety of books at the fair, ranging from children’s literature to the rare book of Sir John Marshal ‘Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilisation’. The book is an official account of archaeological excavations carried at Mohenjodaro out by the Indian government between 1922 and 1927 and was originally printed in 1931 in England. The Sindh culture department reprinted the book in 2012 when it was almost out of stock.

The authentic and rare translation of Holy Quran in Sindhi by leading religious scholar, late Maulana Abdul Karim of Bair Sharif, attracted many visitors. So did Shah Jo Risalo of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, anthologies of Sachhal Sarmast, anthologies in Sindhi, Urdu and other languages, works of famous Sindhi poet Shaikh Ayaz, literary contributions of Amar Jalil and series of folk literature books compiled by renowned Sindhi scholar Dr Nabi Bakhsh Baloch.

Other popular treasures included eight volumes of Sindhi encyclopaedia, published by the Sindhi Language Authority, Sindhi dictionaries and children’s literature books.

The culture department’s marketing manager, Sikandar Mallah, termed the turnout of people as ‘marvellous’ saying that the rush, interest and frequency of purchasing books indicated the volume of love people of Larkana had with literature and books.

The response of book lovers was tremendous in Larkana and we had not witnessed it in other districts of the province,” he said.

Meanwhile, people from all walks of life, especially students of medicine and engineering, suggested that such exhibitions should be held frequently and specialised academic books should be added to the range.

Dr Inyat Magsi, a psychiatrist by profession, commented that such exhibitions must be made a regular feature by publishing houses. He said that under the present situation in the country, the book fairs would assist in boosting reading habits and diverting peoples’ minds toward healthier activities and trends. He suggested adding books of English literature, science, social sciences and fiction genre to the variety of books available for sale.

The assistant director of Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto Memorial Library, Shams Kalhoro, said that it was a new experience for them but the response was quite encouraging. Meanwhile, Qasim Kehar, who works as aradio announcer, opined that holding such exhibitions would contribute towards reconstructing minds polluted with the element of terrorism and would help develop reading habits.

Inam Abbasi, the owner of Nao Naiyapo Publications, said that he had not expected such an enthusiastic response from people. He said that books were sold out in three days as more visitors kept demanding more.

Larkana police DIG Khadim Hussain Rind and deputy commissioner Mirza Nasir Ali with others also visited the book fair and appreciated the efforts of organisers. This fair would now travel to Shikarpur district on Nov 6.