The lost zing returns to Delhi Book Fair

Nabila Habib & Shivangi Singh Delhi Book Fair (Aug 29 - Sept 06), beginning in 1995, has turned fifteen this year. This time the literary extravaganza has become more colourful with wider passages, better seating arrangements and a variety of books in Hindi, English as well as other regional languages. With soft music being played in the backdrop, soft red and green carpets covering the floor and vibrant placards announcing publications, the book fair at Pragati Maidan exudes a gentle charm. The annual fair attracts national and international publishers, librarians, researchers, academicians, writers, students and book lovers from all walks of life. As Safdar Hussain Khan, Sr General Manager, ITPO (India Trade Promotion Organisation) says, "Delhi Book Fair is a sort of bridge in our linguistically diverse country." This time the theme of the festival is `Literature from the Northeast` - an attempt to showcase regional literature in the best possible manner. The general mood of the festival is euphoric, as compared to last year when recession was at its peak. On the first day of the festival, Jaswant Singh was the show-stopper with his book, `Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence` selling like hot cakes. Inspite of rainfall on Sunday, the crowd turnout was encouraging towards the evening as book lovers turned up in great numbers. There is a curious inclination of buyers towards self-help books this year. Perhaps the hectic lifestyle in metros calls for that much-needed relief, and books appear to be a way-out. According to Mr Khan, "Self-help books, feel-good novels and children books are iimmensely popular in the fair." Talking about the crowd turn-out and new offers, Mr Vinod of Penguin says, "This time, quite a lot of book lovers are thronging to the place. Penguin has forayed into the world of comics and we are offering two books of illustrations `Hanuman` and `A Bag Full of Mystery`." Debashis Nandy, Sales Manager of Niyogi Books appeared quite hopeful about the sale of the books. He said, "Our book on Lata Mangeshkar is quite a hit and this time purchases are better than the last time." It was quite congested at the stall of Rupa publishers as everyone wanted to have a look at the controversial book by Jaswant Singh. Vijay Kumar Sharma of the publication said, "We are offering ten percent discount on our books. Yes, Jinnah book is discounted too and it is pulling the crowd to our stall." Business looked good at Om Book Shop, where buyers were seen looking at `Bargain Books Special`. Nitin Anand, said, “We are giving 80 to 90 percent discount in `Bargain Books Special`. The sale is better than the last year." Talking about the most popular genre of books, Pradeep Aggarwal of Diamond Books said, "Children`s literature, personality development, cookery books, computer related books are very popular. We have also organised an event in which author Joginder Singh`s book will be launched." There were some innovative goods on display in the stationery section like laptop stands and stylish gazettes. However, business has not been good for stationery over the years and there has been marked decline in sale. Rohit Shori, Business Development Executive of Filex Systems Private LTD said, "There has been decline in stationery sale. In this generation of computers and laptops people have become disinclined to buy expensive stationery. We are displaying stylish products to attract customers." Thankfully, this time, the lost zing has returned to the book fair. The capital has been host to a variety of socio-cultural events but the experience of a happy stroll into the world of books is truly unique!