A book fair; what is it exactly?

• Understanding the significance of the Southern Book Fair, held in Galle from 19 to 28 January

By Surya Vishwa

Book fairs. What exactly are they? Technically, they are events where large numbers of books are brought from distant areas and placed in one location enabling a unique experience. 

Books are a commodity. Yet, there is a significant difference in how books can be valued when compared to most other things. 

The value of a book is immeasurable. This is because it may hold an entire universe within it, a body of knowledge that may be able to change the destiny of a human being. 

A destiny of one human is not separate from the fate of a large group of people, such as a community, a nation or the world. 

Just as one human can inflame a community, a nation or the world with the destruction of ignorance, one human can do the opposite and light up the darkness with knowledge. 

While the process of knowledge is an internal evolution occurring within the human consciousness via the machinery of the brain, it is facilitated by factual information, diverse interpretations of events and phenomena.

Varied creative content defined as art and culture add more insight to factual interpretations and influence what we call a creation. A country producing creative minds do not lack invention, innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation.

Books, a vital therapist when all hope is lost 

Bibliotherapy is not a word we often hear in Sri Lanka but books can act as a vital therapist when all hope seems lost. When we read biographies of many a human who achieved greatness serving the world with some significance we would often find the story of how books influenced such a person. 

Therefore, can we measure books the way we do other sale items? How is a book sale different to that of other useful merchandise? How many of us have sat through the very beginning and the very end of a book fair? 

The writer would assume that not many of us have confronted that poignant soul searching moment when human beings who choose to earn their living by spreading knowledge and joy through books,  transport, unpack, arrange and then pack up hundreds of books in a tedious process taking well over half a day and involving a vast amount of  energy. There is something unexplainably soul searing in watching books still in their orphaned state (not adopted into a reading family) being packed into crates, boxes and lorries.

The writer witnessed such a moment at the first edition of the Southern Book Fair carried out by the Commonwealth Book Publishers Network. The location was the Town Hall in Galle that had been transformed in its entirety and changed into a typical book lovers’ haven as is done every year at the BMICH to create the international book exhibition and sale. 

The Southern Book Fair was organised by the Commonwealth Publishers Network and held from the 19 to 28 January under the patronage of the organisation chairman Dinesh Kulatunga, festival director Edward Robbins and chief guests Southern Province Governor Willie Gamage and the Southern Provincial Council Chief Secretary Sumith Alahakhoon. President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited the event to officiate the launch of the Destination Sri Lanka magazine, published by Neptune publishers to support tourism and create a publication trend linking literature and tourism, especially vernacular literature. 

The event was held parallel to the Galle Literary festival and as part of the overall literary festivities of the Galle Concerto 2024 celebrating art, food, literature and music to be continued until 31March.

Probably, watching the unpacking and book clearing of the Southern Book Fair on its last day would have impacted my emotions strongly because I had spent much time interviewing the book publishers and the writers in Galle, exhibiting and selling their work.

Given this was the first time the newly formed Commonwealth Publishers Network in Sri Lanka carried out its first initiative in the country, the principal sponsor of the event, M. D. Gunasena had set the tone for the book fair to provide ample opportunity to Sinhala, English and Tamil language publications. Thus, a foundation was created for all three languages in Sri Lanka to be featured significantly at future events and moulded to international stature. 

The book business should be good business for any nation at any given time. In Sri Lanka in the midst of what is described as an economic crisis there is little discourse on the importance of strengthening the printing, publishing and book sale industry.

Focus on supporting self-publishing writers

Having interviewed especially, women writers and publishing entrepreneurs who were given a chance by the organisers to showcase and sell their work alongside scores of mainstream bookshops, the need to focus on supporting self- publishing writers surfaced.

For Anusha Gamaethage, a teacher of Tamil language in Galle, the chance to sell her poetry book at an individual stall as provided to self published writers was a maiden opportunity she  received in her literary career.

“I write Haiku type poetry in all three languages and my first book is Susum Helana Kandu *(sighing mountains) where the poetry is published in Sinhala, Tamil and English, with illustrations,” said Anusha.

“A poet writes not with a mercenary intent and poetry is needed in this world as it gives the human mind and heart what cannot be provided by material goods. We live in Galle and often do not travel to Colombo to avail of the opportunities in the capital city. Hence, our humble request, when significant local and international literary events take place, do not forget the ordinary people like us. Many writers in rural South struggle without basic opportunities and exposure,” she explained. 

Also, the book Aithihasika Galu Kotuwa (the historical Galle Fort) authored by Shasthravedi Vidyapathy Chandraratne Wijamuni, responsible for overseeing the Galle Fort, was being sold by his wife and family members. The Harmony page will carry a review of this book and feature an interview with its author in the upcoming weeks.

A large number of books on Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim heritage and culture were sold by islandwide represented bookshops and publishers some exhibiting for the first time. 

“As we conceptualised the first Southern Book Fair, we wanted it to represent the citizens of Sri Lanka and thereby create a solid foundation for the local publishing industry, exposing them to the Southern reader, especially, in the Sinhala language. There is a vacuum today in this regard as sometimes the focus is largely on English reading that is vital but if overdone it could alienate the Sinhala and Tamil publishing industry,”  a director of the Commonwealth Publishers Network and a veteran publisher in Sri Lanka concentrating on promoting writers of all three official languages, Shane Perera said. 

What is a celebration of literature and knowledge if it does not represent authentically the people of a nation? If literature, art and culture are to create a credible corridor for humanity based tourism and diplomacy it has to encompass the local languages and the local people. 

English should be given its due place as a link language that connects the world but not at the cost of local representation. A hallmark of the Southern Book Fair in Galle was, while making a serious effort to promote tourism especially, with specialised publications on Sri Lanka as a travel destination, it did not alienate the local people. Hence, elitism that is sometimes an issue with English language literary representation in post colonial countries, did not figure as a malady. 

There were several student centered workshops in English, Tamil and Sinhala carried out by all three ethnically represented Sri Lankans organised by veteran theatre practitioner and publisher Mohammed Safeer.

The Southern Book Fair featured many books in the Sinhala language that described the Galle Fort poetically and aesthetically. For example, the book ‘Gallu Korale Janakavi’ by Norman Siripala *(poetry of Galle) connected with folklore, history and even contemporary relevance.  There were also books such as, Music and Healing Rituals of Sri Lanka by Dr. K. D. Lasanthi Manaranjani, Kamathai Kumburai  (on traditional agrarian culture) by Sandaruwan Lokuhewa and Janahithakami Arthika Sanwardanaya (people centred economic development) by J. W. Wickremesinghe.

It should be explicitly mentioned here that even a cursory glance at these titles would point to the incredibly rich knowledge bestowed to Sri Lanka via the local publishing industry as seen in some of the publications sold at the Southern Book Fair. Therefore, it would seem a comedy of errors why Sri Lanka is in debt, is broke and languishing under what is now known as a ‘crisis.’

What is important may be to pin point where exactly the crisis is. Given that everything originates from the mind it could well be seen that the current economic crisis can be surmounted if we put our minds to good use and make use of the knowledge generated by the writers of this nation, encompassing disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, spirituality, indigenous knowledge, heritage, aesthetics, engineering and economics, especially related to the historical unravelling of the culture of economics in the country prior to and after imperialism. 

Hence, with all these thoughts lurking in my head, waiting for the transport back to Colombo on the final day of the Southern Book Fair in Galle it is little surprise that I was struck with emotion experiencing first-hand the massive effort needed to unpack and lug everything back to lorries, dismantle tents and unroll the platforms and carpets laid out to create a beautiful atmosphere. Are we as readers and buyers of books aware of this effort when we saunter into book fairs held in our country?

Books are not things that assuage hunger and thirst that are the lot of every mortal being, but rather the door to immortality. A writer/publisher never dies provided a service is done that promotes the good of humankind. Hence, if a nation is plagued by a crisis of any sort, it is knowledge alone that can be the saviour; knowledge put into practice. 

There is much talk of tourism being able to contribute to put the economy right. This would be correct only if the nation at least at this late stage develops a tourism model strongly rooted in the culture and welfare of its people. A culture unappreciated and unused by its own people cannot be ‘sold’ credibly to outsiders. There is immense potential indeed in literary based tourism and the Southern Book Fair organised by the Commonwealth Literary Network set the basic foundation for a model that can be improved on. 

Among the efforts of all those who contributed to the book fair the names of the Southern Governor, Willie Gamage and the, Southern Provincial Council Chief Secretary Sumith Alahakhoon, kept surfacing in the interviews held to obtain information about the event.  It is revealed that these two individuals provided unstinted support at short notice, going well beyond their official duties. 

This is what is needed to emerge victorious over the current economic crisis; the honing of a current attitude to be adopted by Sri Lankans and for officials to be dedicated citizens who do their duty by their people and the land on which they were born.