Seven books showcasing various aspects of Himachal released

Addressing the gathering, the PWD Minister said that at a time when technology, particularly smartphones and artificial intelligence, had occupied much of people’s lives, it had become a moral responsibility to encourage new and young talent to take up writing. He stressed, however, that writers must remain truthful to the subject they choose.

Citing historical examples, Vikramaditya Singh said: “Akbarnama of the third Mughal emperor Akbar written by Abul Fazl is the truth but the author only touched the positive aspects of the Mughal emperor in his book. But at the same time, there was another writer Badauni (Abdul Qadir Badauni) who touched the negative traits of Akbar which were also very true. I only want to say that authors not only write books but they write the history so whatever they write, they should write with honesty”.

Secretary (Education) Kanwar said that writing and publishing books in the present times was rarely a profitable venture, especially for new and unestablished writers, more so for those writing in Hindi. Despite this, he noted, there was hope as several reports indicated that reading and writing habits were gradually increasing among certain sections of society.

“The very fact that people have gathered here on the first day of the New Year for the launch of Hindi books shows that passion for literature is still alive,” he said.

Meanwhile, young authors including Akhilesh Pathak, Chaip Ram and Tashi Chairring Negi briefly highlighted the themes and research behind their respective works.