Due to Corona and some other problems, when it was not possible to hold the Chess Olympiad in Russia, there were discussions about which other country could be held. Knowing about it, Chief Minister Stalin got permission to hold it in Tamil Nadu for the first time.
The players from abroad praised the hospitality of Tamil Nadu. Due to the Chess Olympiad, Tamil Nadu’s pride flag is flying not only in India but all over the world. Subsequently, the International Women’s Tennis Series known as WTA has also been successfully conducted in Chennai. The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association and Tamil Nadu Government have jointly organized this series for the first time in Tamil Nadu
Following this, the Tamil Nadu Government has taken some steps to upgrade the Chennai Book Fair to an International Book Fair. As part of this, the Tamil Nadu government will also send a delegation to the world’s most important book fair to be held in Frankfurt, Germany. In order to plan how to organize the Chennai International Book Fair, a five-member team led by Director of the Library Department Yumbhagwat IAS has gone to Germany to first visit the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, to see what is happening there and to meet the visiting international publishers and invite them to the Chennai Book Fair. The delegation will also meet representatives of more than 30 countries from around the world.
Organized by the South Indian Booksellers and Publishers Association (PABASI), the Chennai Book Fair is historic. Successfully running for 45 years. A festival of lakhs of readers, the Chennai Book Fair has many special features. But it has been a local fair so far.
On the other hand, the format of International Book Fairs is somewhat different, says publisher Azhi Senthilnathan, who is part of the team going to Germany on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government as an International Partnership Consultant.
He said, “International book fairs can provide various opportunities for publishers, writers, readers, industry professionals and companies. Frankfurt, London. Paris, Delhi, Moscow. The international book fair format, which is being held in more than 20 major cities of the world like Beijing, Sharjah, Istanbul, Jakarta, Seoul, New York, will come to Chennai this year.” He says he looks forward to it.
Continuing, he said, “The international book fair is not the only selling of books. It is also a place to build relationships. Mainly world famous authors will be there, there will be many author-reader meetings and discussion programs showcasing innovations in the publishing industry. There will be a copyright center where publishers and authors can buy and sell copyrights of their books, and where literary agents will do business. Contracts for translations are signed. Every year a foreign country is invited as a guest of honor and events are held to showcase the literary, creative and cultural elements of that country. As points out various things.
If the International Book Fair is held in Chennai, Chennai will become one of the book centers of the world and will create employment for the publishing companies. Many people are also likely to get employment. The domain and base of the Tamils will be strengthened and our legendary civilizational prosperity is likely to reach the world. However, demands are also being made to introduce these events through additional ancillary events without changing any of the usual highlights and event patterns of the Chennai Book Fair.
During the previous tenure of Chief Minister Stalin as Deputy Chief Minister, 12,000 small libraries were created in the name of Anna Revival Library in 12,000 panchayats in the state. No other state in India had so many libraries at grassroots level. But the next AIADMK government did not see it. Despite this, the current DMK government of Chief Minister Stalin is running a book fair campaign across Tamil Nadu. An artist library is being built in Madurai. In addition, steps have been taken to upgrade the Chennai Book Fair as an international event. It is also the wish of many that it should be staged as another international event following the Chess Olympiad.