Venue: Pragati Maidan
Dates: August 23 – 31, 2014

We have heard myriad laments that the habit of reading is waning. Given the huge turnout at the recent Book Fair during some of the sultriest days of the season, we are quite heartened that this was just another ‘FEAR’ (‘false evidence assumed right’).

Over 500 stalls were set up in 6 halls of Pragati Maidan and around 300 publishers participated in this annual event. In addition to the conventional collections of children’s books and Hindi literature, there were dedicated stalls for cookery books and comics. Government organisations such as Archeological Survey of India, Sangeet Natak Academy, Asiatic Society and Doordarshan also had dedicated stalls that carried various gems from their archives.

Over the years, the Book Fair has changed its character and is more inclusive. The definition of books is much broader now. Alongside paper books, the stalls carried e-books, video CDs, audio books and reading material in all sorts of electronic forms. Various activities were also being held to attract curious visitors. In fact, we were intrigued to find meditation classes being conducted by religious groups in front of their stalls. The Stationery and Office Automation Fair that was happening concurrently in one of the halls attracted additional footfall.

As the photographs demonstrate, the sprouting generation still shows a strong interest in books. Thus we can look happily forward to soaring turnouts in the future book fairs as well.