Book fairs were a unique and unsubstitutable ave- nue in those days as it was the only place where we could buy or read books in large numbers. It was also the time when the Internet was not there, though now we have digital formats which still do not match the charm of a physical book, said Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Minister for Finance, on Friday.

He was speaking at the inauguration of Madurai Book Fair, jointly organised by the district administration and the Book-sellers and and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI) at Tamukkam Grounds in Madurai.

The Minister recalled how Chief Minister M.K. Stalin took the initiative to give books rather than shawls during functions as an example of how important books are.

Sitting in Madurai we can travel around the world through the pages of a book. Further, book fairs are a blessing to publishers, authors, teachers, most importantly the public, he said and urged them to make best use of it.

Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan recalled how the senior IAS officer T. Udayachandran instrumental in taking the initiative in the early days to organise a book fair in Madurai. He said that it is a proud moment as the book fair is the first event to be held in the newly inaugurated Tamukkam Conventional Centre.

"It is a common notion that the young generation is distracted and the reading habit is on the wane, but the book fair's participants, dominated by kids, paint a different picture," said S. Aneesh Sekhar, Collector. Interested book-worms can visit stall number 29, 118 and 119 to buy books from The Hindu Group. The fair, housing over 200 stalls, will be open between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. until October 3.

Minister for Commercial taxes and Registration P. Moorthy, Madurai South MLA M. Boominathan, Mayor Indrani Ponvansanth, Corporation Commissioner Simranjeet Singh Kahlon, Additional Collector (Development) S. Saravanan, District Revenue Officer R. Sakthivel, BAPASI president S. Vairavan and others were present.

Media: The Hindu