Books can shape Goa’s future by boosting creativity and critical thinking
On Wednesday, the Campal grounds, once known for sporting activity, were repurposed as the temporary home of the Goa Book Festival 2026, which will continue until Sunday. It is after a long time that the government of India’s National Book Trust is organising a book fair on this scale in Goa. Surely, the state deserves better. Goa, a literate state with a large section of its population in education, whose authors have written in several languages, and which has a growing community of writers and translators, deserves more book events — both those driven by the government and those emerging from private or not-for-profit initiatives. NBT Director Yuvraj Malik, in an interview to this newspaper, said the book festival could make Goa one of the country’s leading literary destinations. He also dismissed the perception that printed books have become unpopular. NBT, he said, publishes 2,000 new titles annually.
In a world where a digital device is never too far from our hands, we might think that books are somehow redundant. But they can shape Goa’s future by strengthening critical thinking. When it comes to preserving and debating our own complex histories, what could be better than books? Likewise, in terms of nurturing a range of tongues in our multilingual state, books have a role. They can also encourage young readers to engage imaginatively with social and climate change challenges and help citizens make more informed choices. Public life, after all, is guided also by ideas, memory and creativity.
Readers too have a role to play. Now is the time for browsing widely beyond familiar genres, attending author talks and panel discussions, discovering local and regional publishers, buying from independent stalls, introducing children and first-time readers to books, striking up conversations with writers and translators, and treating the event as more than a shopping stop.
Some readers have voiced concern that the price of books has moved sharply upwards in recent times. While we have a far wider choice compared to any time in the past, the issue of affordability is a crucial one. There may be business reasons for this, ranging from higher input to logistics costs. Paper and printing have become more expensive due to global pulp shortages, we are told. Energy price increases and currency fluctuations play a role too. Transport and warehousing costs shot up after pandemic disruptions and fuel hikes, along with smaller print runs for many publishers and higher rents for bookshops and fair venues. All of these push per-copy costs upward. GST on printing and paper is another issue. Thus, libraries remain critical. Today, with the costs of joining state-run libraries being so low, those staying in the vicinity of Panaji or Navelim — and even other areas — have no excuse for not becoming members. Schemes allow one to borrow three books for up to a month at no cost other than a security deposit. This helps those living some distance away. The government must come out with new schemes to popularise reading, and it would be appropriate to create a new department of libraries. It is high time the state implemented the Goa Library Policy.
The Roman statesman, lawyer, philosopher and orator Cicero is believed to have said that a room without books is like a body without a soul. Neil Gaiman, the British author, meanwhile, puts it thus: “A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.” In a word, reading is never wasted.
