ABU DHABI The UAE’s initiative to promote love for books in the Year of Reading got a big push with renowned Indian author, orator and politician Dr. Shashi Tharoor inaugurating a 10-day reading festival in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Launched by Lulu Group and DC Books, the festival will run at the Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre until April 15.
Huge crowds thronged the shopping arcade to meet the Congress MP (Member of Parliament) from Kerala and former UN diplomat who has authored 15 best sellers.
Talking about the role of art and culture in strengthening India-UAE ties, Tharoor said it is a mistake to ignore the importance of cultural bonds and see things only from the prism of economic cooperation.
Seeking cooperation
“Very few Arabic books are being translated into Indian languages, and Indian books into Arabic. That should change. I would like to see more cooperation between Indian and Arab publishers. There should be more effort to persuade Indian publishers to translate titles into Arabic so that we offer a slice of India to this region,” said Tharoor.
UAE has declared 2016 as the Year of Reading, and Lulu Group said they are doing their bit to promote reading by hosting the festival in cooperation with DC Books.
“The idea of hosting a book festival in a shopping mall is to take books to where the crowds come. We want to make books more readily available at competitive prices,” said Nandakumar V., chief communications officer Lulu Group.
DETAILS
What: Lulu-DC Book fair Where: Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre, Abu Dhabi When: Until April 15
