Cultural, Intellectual Destinations Inspire Riyadh International Book Fair Visitors

The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition
of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)
The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)
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Cultural, Intellectual Destinations Inspire Riyadh International Book Fair Visitors

The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition
of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)
The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)

The new edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair (RIBF) is offering its audience millions of books and new titles from the Arabic library, and also offering a wide space for intellectual and cultural dialogues that revive the evenings of the Saudi capital with publishers, intellects, and content creators from all over the world.

The corridors of the fair were crowded thanks to its new location at the King Saud University, and its organization over an area of 50,000 sqm. People have been touring seamlessly to visit the pavilions of over 1,800 publishers partaking from 32 countries and displaying millions of titles. The setup also features halls for the training workshops and platforms for the discussion evenings, which look into various topics on the intellectual movement and the Arabic creativity.

The Oman pavilion... history and art

RIBF is hosting a folkloric Omani group that performs popular arts reflecting the diversity and richness of the country. The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor of this year’s edition of the fair. Its pavilion displays diverse aspects of thought, culture, literature, art, and heritage, and hosts seminars, poetry evenings and art shows in which partakes an elite of Omani novelists and intellects.

Mhanna al-Qamshoui from the Omani Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth, said the visitors flocked to the Sultanate’s pavilion right after the opening, looking to explore the rare Omani manuscripts, the art exhibition, musical shows, and VR presentation on the Sultanate, as well as a Majlis serving Omani goods and popular sweets.

Qamshoui added that the pavilion exhibits a collection of rare manuscripts that reflect the Omani cultural history and its role in the Arab world, the connections among Arab countries and people throughout history, and their civilizational role in advancing humanity and serving various scientific and cultural purposes.

Visitors of the Omani pavilion have been given the opportunity to enjoy a collection of rare manuscripts including the oldest ever, which was written in 1137. The pavilion is decorated with a mural inspired by the Jabreen Castle built by Bil'arab bin Sultan bin Saif Al Yarubi in 1670.

Outdoor area... coffee and books

In the outdoor area, visitors can take a break in the coffee shops and partake in the intellectual discussions before resuming their tours.

The area also hosts theater shows and Saudi and Omani performances that entertain the visitors with cultural ambiances that highlight the historic connection between humans and books, and the significance of literatures for Arabs, as well as honoring the symbols of culture, thought, and poetry in the region.

Qamshoui announced that the Omani Orchestra will attend the RIBF in the few coming days to share its musical creativity with the Saudi audience, and expand the Omani experience in the heart of Saudi Arabia.



Fading Literature: Delhi's Famed Urdu Bazaar on Last Legs

A student sits beneath packed shelves at the Hazrat Shah Waliullah public library - AFP
A student sits beneath packed shelves at the Hazrat Shah Waliullah public library - AFP
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Fading Literature: Delhi's Famed Urdu Bazaar on Last Legs

A student sits beneath packed shelves at the Hazrat Shah Waliullah public library - AFP
A student sits beneath packed shelves at the Hazrat Shah Waliullah public library - AFP

In the bustling heart of Old Delhi, Indian bookseller Mohammed Mahfooz Alam sits forlorn in his quiet store, among the last few selling literature in a language beloved by poets for centuries.

Urdu, spoken by many millions today, has a rich past that reflects how cultures melded to forge India's complex history.

But its literature has been subsumed by the cultural domination of Hindi, struggling against false perceptions that its elegant Perso-Arabic script makes it a foreign import and a language of Muslims in the Hindu-majority nation.

"There was a time when, in a year, we would see 100 books being published," said 52-year-old Alam, lamenting the loss of the language and its readership.
The narrow streets of Urdu Bazaar, in the shadow of the 400-year-old Jama Masjid mosque, were once the core of the city's Urdu literary community, a center of printing, publishing and writing.

Today, streets once crowded with Urdu bookstores abuzz with scholars debating literature are now thick with the aroma of sizzling kebabs from the restaurants that have replaced them.

Only half a dozen bookstores are left.

"Now, there are no takers," Alam said, waving at the streets outside. "It is now a food market."

- Dying 'day by day' -

Urdu, one of the 22 languages enshrined under India's constitution, is the mother tongue of at least 50 million people in the world's most populous country. Millions more speak it, as well as in neighbouring Pakistan.

But while Urdu is largely understood by speakers of India's most popular language Hindi, their scripts are entirely different.

Alam says he can see Urdu literature dying "day by day".

The Maktaba Jamia bookshop he manages opened a century ago. Alam took over its running this year driven by his love for the language.

"I have been sitting since morning, and barely four people have come," he said gloomily. "And even those were college or school-going children who want their study books."

Urdu, sharing Hindi's roots and mingled with words from Persian and Arabic, emerged as a hybrid speech between those who came to India through trade and conquest -- and the people they settled down amongst.

But Urdu has faced challenges in being viewed as connected to Islamic culture, a popular perception that has grown since the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in 2014.

- 'Feel the beauty' -

For centuries, Urdu was a key language of governance.

Sellers first set up stores in the Urdu Bazaar in the 1920s, selling stacks of books from literature to religion, politics and history -- as well as texts in Arabic and Persian.

By the 1980s, more lucrative fast-food restaurants slowly moved in, but the trade dropped dramatically in the past decade, with more than a dozen bookshops shutting down.

"With the advent of the internet, everything became easily available on the mobile phone," said Sikander Mirza Changezi, who co-founded a library to promote Urdu in Old Delhi in 1993.

"People started thinking buying books is useless, and this hit the income of booksellers and publishers, and they switched to other businesses."

The Hazrat Shah Waliullah Public Library, which Changezi helped create, houses thousands of books including rare manuscripts and dictionaries.

It is aimed at promoting the Urdu language.

Student Adeeba Tanveer, 27, who has a masters degree in Urdu, said the library provided a space for those wanting to learn.

"The love for Urdu is slowly coming back," Tanveer told AFP, adding that her non-Muslim friends were also keen to learn.

"It is such a beautiful language," she said. "You feel the beauty when you speak it."