While the electronic media is capable of providing education, its bias to commercialisation affects the volume of knowledge being transferred through that media, he said.

In his keynote address, M. Venkaiah Naidu, former BJP national president, said that our cultural heritage was forgotten after being subjected to invasions of many kinds. Reading was one tool that could help protect cultural roots, he said, adding that children should be made to interact in their mother tongue.

Literary critic M. Achutan presided. K.V. Thomas, MLA, P.S. Shyla, District Panchayat president, K.S. Radhakrishnan, Vice Chancellor, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, C.K. Manisankar, Deputy Mayor, Kochi Corporation, Hari S. Kartha, chief editor, Janmabhoomi daily, N.D. Premachandran, general secretary, and V. Nityananda Bhat, president, Antharashtra Pustakotsava Samiti, spoke.

Awards to winners of school-level painting and literary competitions were distributed after the inaugural session. The fair has nearly 160 participants, including publishers and media organisations.

The highlight of this year’s book fair is a photo exhibition on Indian Freedom Struggle, organised by Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP) and Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

It showcases rare as well as famous photographs that captured the essence of the country’s struggle against colonial rulers.

There are photographs of Gandhiji defying the British might with a handful of salt and Jawaharlal Nehru delivering the historic “Tryst With Destiny” speech. Then there is the photograph of empty shells of the hand grenade used by Bhagat Singh.

The exhibition will be on till December 10.

Anand Haridas

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