At the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC)-sponsored National Book Fair 2013 that concluded on Tuesday,the Gujarat Urdu Sahitya Academy was conspicuous by its absence. That when its godowns are brimming with stocks that are gathering dust. Its registrar Harshad Trivedi said,We decided to place our publications on display in the stall hired by the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad at the book fair. Trivedis claim,however,was contradicted by the Academys staff. We had not got any Urdu book for sale or display here, said a salesman at the Sahitya Parishad stall who didnt wish to be named. There were titles only in Gujarati language and they sold well, said the salesman. Trivedi argued,There was no need to have a separate stall for Urdu Academy when Sahitya Parishad had one. We had made arrangements with Sahitya Parishad for Urdu Academy publications. Incidentally,the books published by the Academy in the city are difficult to find. The Academy could have at least put on display works like the Urdu-Gujarati Shabdakosh,a dictionary compiled after a great deal of hard works over several years, said M G Bombaywala,a former convener of the Academy.
