Antiquarian Book Fairs in India - What to Look For?

Indian civilization has developed and prospered for a millennia and its effect over the world has been overpowering. It is both through fiction and non-fiction books that Indian authors have made their mark and the influence of Indian heritage felt across the globe. India has led the way in development of both mathematics and science. Some of the mathematics and astronomy texts of Aryabhatta of 600 B.C. remain relevant even today. Similarly, the works of Bhaskara and Sushruta in Medical Science were pioneering to say the least.

It is extremely sad that Indian Literature around the world is symbolised by mythological texts and religious scriptures. It has also led to the stereotypic of Indian people. Even today India is not considered a traditionally scientific country when all major revolutions in the world of math and science originated in this great country. Till the first half of the medieval period different Indian languages around 300 distinct ones developed across the country and a rich literature, each distinct was created.

During the Mughals Urdu became popular and Hindi and Urdu became the major languages both for scientific and literary thought. Many great social and economic texts were also produced in this time. Administrative texts of the Mughals still serve as useful references. Finally, with the British, English came in. Today India is among the countries with the largest number of English speakers in the world, in pure numbers we are ahead of Britain itself. English literature found its place in Indian heritage and Rabrindranath Tagore and Sarojini Naidu were pioneers in this field.

Role of Antiquarian Book Fairs

The antique book fairs have played an important role in popularizing all the different aspects of Indian Heritage and culture and helped destroy many stereotypes. With the ancient texts out for the world to see, people have quickly realised the immense knowledge treasured in ancient and medieval India. Ancient maps of land, sea and the sky, and scriptures have been auctioned for thousands of dollars over the recent years. Literature in now rare languages such as Pali and Sanskrit are proud possessions of antiquarian book fairs. Antique books also include first copies and manuscripts of literature written by some of the Indian greats, including the Nobel winning poet and author Rabrindranath Tagore.

Religious scriptures and mythological texts have not been neglected and have been given their due place in these book fairs. Many antique fairs are open for discussion and critics are available. Lectures and seminars are also organised for the general public. Orientation sessions have recently gained popularity, which provides a hands-on experience for care and preservation of antique texts. With the younger generation taught the importance of these books, Indian literature is gaining prominence across the country.