Novel Guinness World Record set on eve of Pune Book Fair

Pune: A Guinness World Record was set on the eve of Pune Pustak Mahotsav (Pune Book Fair) by creating the Saraswati symbol using books on the eve of Pune Book Fair on Friday (December 13).

Officials from the Guinness World Record evaluated the feat on various criteria, declared the setting of record and handed over a certificate. As many as 4,189 books were used to set the record.

The book fair is being held by the National Book Trust (NBT) at the Fergusson College ground from December 14 to 22. At the Guinness World Record programme, Legislative Council Chairperson Dr Neelam Gorhe, MLA Chitra Wagh, NBT Chairman Dr Milind Marathe, Lokmanya Multipurpose Co-op Society Chairman Kiran Thakur, Pune Book Fair Organiser Rajesh Pande, Krishnakumar Goyal, Organising Committee Member Prasenjeet Fadnavis, Bageshree Manthalkar, Adv Mandar Joshi, Dr Sanjay Chakane, Guinness World Records Authorised Official Pravin Patel and Milind Verlekar were present. Books published by Neelkanth Publishers and NBT were used for the record.

Pravin Patel said, “The work of art was evaluated on criteria such as a size of at least 1,000 sq m, use of well-maintained books, filling of the entire space, use of five different colours, etc. Thus, the work of art was created and qualified for the world record.”

Chitra Wagh said, “One’s personality gets enriched through reading. Therefore, reading is important. The book fair should not be restricted to Pune but should be held in every district of the State. People like reading. Therefore, they should be provided with such a forum.”

Rajesh Pande said, “The response that we have been getting for the book fair in Pune indicates how much love Puneites have for books. This year, a literary, culinary, cultural Mahotsav is also being held, along with the book fair. I am happy that this year’s Mahotsav begins with the creation of the Saraswati Yantra symbol and by setting a world record.”

Overuse of mobile phones by children

Neelam Gorhe said, “A void of thoughts that is prevailing at the seat of culture, Pune, needs to be filled through book fairs and debates. Australia has banned the use of mobile phones by children. We should take care that children do not get to read content, which may mislead them. The Centre is bringing a bill to stop Deepfake. However, we should seriously think about the use of mobile phones by children.”