Rajmohan Gandhi to inaugurate Vijayawada Book Festival today

Vijayawada: Rajmohan Gandhi and his spouse Usha Gandhi are going to be the chief guests at the opening ceremony of the 30th Vijayawada Book Festival, which is being organised under the aegis of Vijayawada Book Festival Society (VBFS) on Tuesday. 

It is apt to mention that Rajmohan Gandhi is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and Chakravartula Rajagopalachari popularly known as Rajaji.

Vijayawada Book Festival Society, NTR Trust and State Department of Language and Culture are jointly organising the book festival.

Talking to newsmen the convener of the Book Festival Vijayakumar, head of Emesco Publications, said that Deputy Speaker Mandali Buddha Prasad would preside over the inauguration function.

Thanking the people of Vijayawada for the stupendous success of the book festival for the last 30 years, he said that it was amazing that the book festival was being organised for the last 30 years in a 3-tier city like Vijayawada. “The credit goes to the people of Vijayawada,” he added.

Padmashree awardee Prof Kolakaluri Enoch, Mayor of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Koneru Sridhar, Chief Electoral Officer RP Sisodia, District Collector B Lakshmikantam, Prof A Raghurama Raju, Hyderabad Book Fair Society president Juluri Gowrisankar and others would participate.

Vijayakumar said that earlier youth from various colleges used to participate in the book festival as volunteers due to Sankranti holidays. 

Of late, nobody is coming forward to do the volunteer job, he regretted and appealed to the youth to participate as volunteers in the book festival to get the exposure to the world of wisdom.

He said that a series of programmes including birth centenary of noted writer Dhanikondda Hanumanta Rao, 150th death anniversary of noted reformer Kandukuri Veeresalingam and birth centenary celebrations of Tikkavarpu Pattabhirama Reddy popular known as Pathabhi would be organised.

Rehamanuddin, programme officer of VBFS, said that an entrepreneurship seminar would be conducted with the support of NTR Trust and representatives from Germany would also take part in it.