Hyderabad : Abids Bazaar keenly awaits bibliophiles

Hyderabad : In the first half of 2020, as we found ourselves locked up inside and the chatter outside receded, books were dusted off the shelves and lined up on bedside tables. As outside world shut down, with plenty of time, people buried themselves in books and escaped the harsh realities of life. Shared reading with children was a new fad those days.

One thought this avocation would keep up with times and the reading habits would sustain; a natural corollary would have been greater number of visitors to the famed Sunday book bazaar in Abids, which is a hub for bookworms and one of the oldest markets of the twin cities. Alas, post-lockdown and as normalcy returned, the market has actually seen a decline of 40% in the footfalls of people visiting the market.

Vendors at the Abids Sunday book market say there is a perceptible decline in the number of visitors. They point to the inroads made by e-books into the homes of book lovers. An air of despair is palpable. Booksellers are seen weary and wary of future, having held onto their spots for decades. People also seem to be keeping off the market due to concerns over lack of sanitisation and social distancing.

Speaking to The Hans India, Khaja Ali, who has been in this business for the past one generation, said, " On Sundays I sell books here and on other days I sell crockery in Begum Bazaar. This business was established in1975. Earlier my father ran this book business and then I took on the business after his demise.

I sell novels, fiction and nonfiction, general books and Urdu books. For 3 months the market was shut due to the pandemic, which led to a mammoth loss in my business. Although I had my other business, it wasn't sufficient for a living. Gradually, the customers started showing up after it was opened. Before pandemic, I used to earn 2000- 3000, but due to pandemic I earn over 500-600. The book market has gone down 40 per cent compared to pre-pandemic."

Another vendor, Mohammad Abrar who has been selling books at Abids for the past 15 years, said, "Not only Amazon and E-books but even the pandemic has hit the book market poorly. It has seen a decline of 40 per cent. After Diwali, the business has been increasing.

As a middle-class man, I had to work it out with my savings, because this is the only business I rely on. Pre- pandemic I used to earn up to Rs 5,000 and now we don't get even half of it. However, the Internet and e- books cannot replace physical books, I see book lovers visiting here often. Adding to our woes, this year the book fair was cancelled and rescheduled to February 2021."

Ahmed Feroz, who sells mainly educational books, said, "The educational books have seen a 50-60 per cent loss, Due to schools and college shut. After the pandemic, half of the business has gone down. Although compared to the previous month which has seen a decline, the market has been recovering from the mammoth loss."

Vendors, nevertheless, pin hopes on growing realisation that e-books cannot replace physical books and cannot afford their convenience. The feel of a book in hands is quite different. The end of a painful chapter is in sight, they say.