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Good books are loved by all. And if they are written in your mother tongue they become even more close to your heart. The ongoing books exhibition at Panjab University is a treat for inquisitive and voracious readers of Punjabi literature. Organized as part of the Second World Punjabi Conference, the purpose of the exhibition we are told is to make available Punjabi books both to delegates at the Conference as well as to the students. On display are novels, biographies, poetry, fiction, literature all in Punjabi. The translated version of English novels including that of H G Well’s ‘The Invisible Man’, Alex Haley’s ‘Roots’, Nigerian novel ‘Ameena’ are some unique picks. “Literature is an important part of any culture and good literature should be translated in all languages,” feels H S Sagar, a visiting short story writer who prefers reading Punjabi version of English books. While there is a big market for publication of English books, Punjabi books usually suffer due to a limited readership. “These days you can easily find English books but Punjabi books are not easily available,” rues Kuldeep Singh, a student from Panjab University who visited the exhibition. Even libraries in the city have a limited collection of Punjabi books, something students of Punjabi language feel left out for. “I usually order books from Patiala since they are not available in Chandigarh,” tells Kamaljeet Kaur, who is doing her Ph.D in Sikh studies. No wonder then most of the publishers who displayed their books at the exhibition were from Ludhiana and other areas of Punjab.
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