Festival of bibliophiles a huge draw in city

All the book aficionados of the city are heading towards the ongoing 32nd edition of the Hyderabad Book Fair-2018 at NTR Stadium. Inaugurated by M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice-President of India, on Saturday, the organisers have set up more than 320 book stalls to indulge the denizens in the world of books. This year, a total of 150 bookstalls have been set up for the people two Telugu States. Apart from the regular stalls, there are many theme-based stalls set up for subjects like mathematics, science, start-ups, mythology, employment, Sanskrit, law, Indian history and more.

Juluri Gouri Shankar, president, Hyderabad Book Fair said, “The first edition of the Hyderabad Book Fair started in 1985 at Central Library, Chikkadpally with 50 stalls. Due to the space constraints, it was shifted to RTC Cross Roads, Exhibition Grounds and finally settled at Telangana Kala Bharathi, NTR Stadium. The craze for books among people is increasing every year. This year we have set up more than 320 stalls,” One can buy books of various genres like action, art, history, autobiography, crime drama, health, horror, mystery, poetry, satire, travel, romance and more. The organisers informed that books costs from Rs. 5 to Rs. 25,000 are available at the exhibition.

Shankar said that more than 10 lakh people are expected to visit this year’s book fair from all over India. “Apart from the book stalls, we are conducting cultural activities, group discussions, poetry sessions and more every day from 5pm onwards at the Sangam Laxmi Bai venue. For the children, we are organising various activities like painting competitions, dance, group singing, fancy dress competition, quiz and more, under the programme ‘Balavikas’ at main and mini venues every day from 2pm to 5pm.”

When asked about the impact of online reading on book sales, Shankar said, “Reading books online is increasing every year, but it doesn’t have any effect on book sales. When you are reading online, you don’t get the feeling of having a book on your hands. We need more Telugu book critics to improve our literature and to take it to the global stage,” K Chandramohan, secretary, Hyderabad Book Fair said that more than 35,000 people visited the book fair on the inaugural day and was hoping that the count would reach to 1 lakh every day. Suresh of VMPG book stall said, “Last year, we sold 5,000 books and this year we are expecting to sell 30 percent more. We mostly sell the books related to entrepreneurship, start-ups and business ideas.

Compared to the weekdays, the crowd will be doubled during the weekends and public holidays,” While every stall owner was busy in selling their books, there is a unique stall titled ‘Eco-Friendly Bags’ by Hyderabad-based Annapurna. She said, “To help the mother nature, I started making paper bags since 2005 to reduce the use of plastic among people.” Raghavendra, a student said, “In my observation, I found that there are not many displays of books by young writers. I hope the organisers will provide separate space for the young writers in the coming days,”.

BY V Sateesh Reddy