VIJAYAWADA: Preparations are underway for the eagerly awaited 34th Chapter of Vijayawada Books Festival, scheduled to take place at Polytechnic College Grounds from December 28, 2023, to January 7, 2024, organised by the Vijayawada Books Festival Society (VBFS).
The venue of the book fair will pay tribute to the late Varaha Chetty of Book Centre, Visakhapatnam, while the main stage will bear the name of the esteemed writer Late Ketu Viswanatha Reddy. The Pratibha Vedika, hosting student programmes, will be dedicated to Late Sri Ramana.
The inauguration ceremony will be held on January 28 at 6 pm and is expected to be graced by the presence of Governor Justice S Abdul Nazeer and Minister for Education Botcha Satyanarayana.
Following the opening ceremony, a memorial condolence programme is set for 7 pm, featuring speeches by Padmabhushan Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad on Varaha Chetti, Mandalaparthi Kishore, and Obulesu on Kethu Viswanatha Reddy. Pannala Subrahmanya Bhattu will speak about Sri Ramana. On December 29, a tribute event for the late Avantsa Somasundar Sat Jayanti Sabha will be held.
The festival’s diverse schedule includes the launch of Telugu book ‘Bhaaratha Desa Janabha Samasyalu’ (India’s Population Problems) on December 30, featuring retired Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi.
Late Kalipatnam Rama Rao Sat Jayanti Sabha is scheduled for December 31, with Vadrevu Chinaveerabhadra, VVN Murthy, and Attada Appalanaidu as special guests. A special event, the Book Lovers’ Walk from Siddhartha College to the Book Festival grounds, is arranged for 4 pm on January 1, followed by the Emesco book launch on the main stage. A. Krishna Rao, Associate Editor of Andhra Jyoti Daily, and Srinivasa Rao, Secretary of Sahitya Akademi, will participate in this programme.
Late Sanjiv Dev’s Satjayanti Sabha is planned for January 2, featuring Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, Retired IAS officer, and Durga Prasad from Rajachandra Foundation. On January 6 at 6 pm, the inauguration of Chaganti Koteswara Rao’s ‘Mahabharata Pravachanalu’ will take place, with the participation of Justice DVSS Somayajulu and Justice Krishna Mohan.
The society members are organising a grand closing meeting on January 7, with participation from Commissioner of Technical Education Nagarani, NTR District Collector S Dilli Rao and VMC chief Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar.
During a press conference on Friday, D Vijay Kumar, Founder of Emesco Publications, expressed their efforts to engage high officials in the programme, expecting nearly 6 lakh book lovers to visit the exhibition this year. Honorary President of VBFS, Bellapu Babji, President Manohar Naidu, Secretary Lakshmaiah and others were present.