A Visit to the World Book Fair

“Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.”

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

“Ah! Books, I love the smell of books and I would give everything and anything to keep smelling them.”

Just like Trade Fair, Auto Expo, Job Fair etc., Delhi Government also hosts World Book Fare every year. I have been going to World Book Fair for a long time but had stopped going in between. Now it’s been 3 years that I have been again going to the World Book Fair in Pragati Maidan Delhi. Book Fair to me like a firefly to that bright flame burning from the wick of a candle. I have been told that my passion for books and book reading was inherent since my toddler days. I have been in love with books for a long time and that’s why my interest in going to the World Book Fair is but the only natural. Although the Book Fair is now over, still I would like to share my experience of it.

First, when you reach Pragati Maidan, you have to walk a little bit to buy tickets for entry into its premises. After you buy the ticket, again you have to walk before reach Hall No.11. Here you will find the majority of Indian bookstalls and publishers arrayed out in front of you. It’s amazing so many different kinds of publishers from all across the country with millions of books published in different languages. The best part in this hall is that the various stalls displaying thousands of writers’ works, publications and much more. The topics range from general fiction, non-fiction, poetry, spiritualism, self-improvement, religion and metaphysics, Paranormal & the Occult, Politics etc. You can even find an occasional writer amidst these stalls promoting his or her work.

The next Hall, Hall No.12, has always been my personal favourite one as it displays thousands of international publishing firms and publications in its stalls. Here again, I would like to quote a famous line: - “Every story I create creates me. I write to create myself.” I love this line as it somehow manages to embody my feelings towards writing. Another famous line signifying the love of books and book reading is: - “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” All these quotations are strung up on banners on both side of the roads lining the stalls and they are beckoning the thousands of visitors towards them.

In this particular hall, you will all the major international publishers like Penguin, Rupa, Bantam, Oxford, Cambridge, Putnam, Harper Collins, Hachette, etc. Few Indian publishers have also achieved tremendous international recognition like Notion Press, Jaico Publishers, and Blue Rose Publications etc. So they too have earned the right to stand tall amongst the publishing giants of the literary world. One very remarkable point which comes to mind is that despite the rapid advances in technology in all spheres of life; there are still people who love print media and are drawn to these kinds of book fares all across India every year. I mean in this world of Kindle, PDAs and Online Digital Media reading platforms, people are still attracted towards that old traditional paperbound and hardcover bound books. Also important to note the diversity of visitors is amazing. You will find book lovers and readers of every age, colour, mindset and background. That is from the old to the young, and from the not so old to the middle age group. Here also you will find all kinds of people from just visitors to genuinely interested readers, from serious readers to people who like lighter topics like humour etc.

Another unique aspect of these kinds of book fairs is that it allows young and promising writers an opportunity to showcase their talent. You will find hundreds of up-coming writers standing in stall displaying their work. It kind of allows you to gain wider recognition and also gives you a sense of rush. It was the same kind of rush which I felt when I promoted my first published work in the World Book Fair of 2018. Further on, you can also see that book launches are going on and hundreds of people throng to see what the author has to say about his/her work and related topics. One of the most unique and distinguishing aspects of this book fair has been the number of bookstalls that were selling books at very affordable rates. I found out that one of the stalls was selling 3 books at the cost of just 100 rupees. That is why it was jam-packed with customers and it was evident that the owners of the stall were having a hard time handling all this. Several stalls were doing the same thing and the competition was quite high amongst them.

Talk of going through different halls and roaming makes one hungry and to satiate that need there were several food stalls interspersed amongst these halls. Here you can have all kinds of cuisines and the management of Pragati Maidan had even made special provisions making allocating spaces to different restaurants and food stalls.

One new development which was not present earlier is that now many self-styled reporters were recording and shooting the whole event and posting them on social media platforms. This was a new development and this also helps in promoting such events more frequently in the country.

Finally, it was time for me to say goodbye as it was getting late. So with a heavy heart, I left the premises and went back home. Although I had also purchased some books relating to some research which I am currently pursuing; but still my heart goes out to the same place. Every year for 1 week this extravagant bonanza for book lovers takes place in Delhi and I would urge more and more people to take up loving and reading books. To end this I would again like to quote a famous line: - “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination and the journey. They are home.”